Badjao

Badjao: The Sea Gypsies is a 1957 Philippine adventure drama film directed by National Artist Lamberto V. Avellana. The film was written by Rolf Bayer and stars Rosa Rosal, Tony Santos, Sr., Leroy Salvador, Vic Silayan, and Pedro Faustino. It tells a love story between Hassan, a Badjao man and Bala Amai, a Tausug woman whose differences were accepted by both sides but the Moro people attempted to destroy their lives. Avellana won best director for the film at the 1957 Asian Film Festival. The film also won for best screenplay, best cinematography (for Mike Accion), and best editing (for Gregorio Carballo). The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences gave LVN Pictures the 1957 International Prestige Award for the film. The film was screened at the Vancouver Film Festival (Vancouver, Canada) in 1961, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Edinburgh, United Kingdom) in 1962, and the Coronado Film Festival in 1963.