- Marilou Diaz-Abaya
-
Marilou Diaz-Abaya is a multi-awarded film director in the Philippines.
She is the founder and current president of the Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center, a film school based in Antipolo City, Philippines.
She is the director of José Rizal, a biopicture on the Philippines' national hero.
Contents
Early life
Diaz was born in Quezon City in 1955. She studied in private schools (St. Theresa's College being one of them), eventually graduating from Assumption College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts, major in Communication Arts in 1976. She went to Los Angeles for further studies and graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Master of Arts in Film and Television in 1978. She then went to London and completed the Film Course at London International Film School also in 1978.[1]
Career
Diaz directed and released her first feature film, Tanikala (Chains) in 1980. Since then, she has been one of the most active and visible directors in Philippine cinema.[1]
Her early films Brutal, Karnal (Of the Flesh), and Baby Tsina, sharply condemn the oppressive social system during the administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. When the Marcos was deposed in 1986, Diaz left filmmaking.[1]
Diaz produced television programs for several years. Her work attempts to reflect the social and political problems to attain social reform. She admittedly uses her work as a tool to uphold, promote, and protect the state of democracy in the Philippines.[1]
In 1995, she again directed films, beginning with the release of Ipaglaban Mo (Redeem Her Honor). She continued directing such films as May Nagmamahal Sa Iyo (Madonna and Child), Sa Pusod Ng Dagat (In the Navel of the Sea), Jose Rizal, and Muro Ami (Reef Hunters). Her body of work is a continuous examination of difficult social problems in the country. Her works often deal with the lives of the Filipino poor, women, and children who struggle to survive under harsh conditions.[1]
Arguably her most famous work, José Rizal, featured actor and 2007 Philippine senatorial candidate Cesar Montano playing the national hero as an ordinary human being, artist, and struggling doctor.[1]
A Japanese award-giving body described her body of work to be "harmoniously blending entertainment, social consciousness, and ethnic awareness." The organization continued by saying: "(Her work) has won acclaim both in the Philippines and abroad for its high level of artistic achievement. It is an ideal manifestation of the artistic culture of Asia, and so is most deserving of the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes."[2]
Awards
Diaz is the 2001 Laureate of the Fukuoka Prize for Culture and the Arts in Japan. She has won numerous directing awards from award-giving bodies such as the Metro Manila Film Festival, the Urian Awards, the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Famas Awards, the Star Awards, the Catholic Mass Media Awards, the British Film Institute Award, the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI, and the Network of Pan Asian Cinema Award (NETPAC).[1]
Organizations
Diaz remains an active film and television producer and director. She is also a director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the current president of the Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center and Dive Solana Inc., a film instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, a trustee of the Jesuit Communications Foundation and the AMANU Media Apostolate, and an active member of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement for Peace, the Artists for Peace, the Mothers for Peace, and the World Association of Psycho-Socio Rehabilitation.[1]
Filmography
Diaz has directed at least twenty-one (21) full length feature films which include internationally exhibited films with English titles and subtitles. The partial list includes the following:[3]
- 1980: Tanikala (Chains), written by Pablo Gomez, produced by Cine Filipinas Productions, starring Susan Roces, Bobby Vasquez, Eddie Garcia and Rita Gomez.
- 1980: Brutal (Brutal), written by Ricky Lee, produced by Bancom Audiovision, starring Amy Austria, Jay Ilagan, Johnny Delgado, charo Santos; multi-awards from the 1980 Metro Manila Film Festival, Film Academy of the Philippines, FAMAS; exhibited at the PIA Film Festival, Tokyo.
- 1983 : Moral (Moral), written by Ricky Lee, produced by Seven Star Productions, starring Lorna Tolentino, Gina Alajar, Sandy Andolong, Ana Marin, Laurice Guillen; rated A by the Film Ratings Board; 1984 British Film Institute Outstanding Film of the Year.
- 1984 : Karnal (Of the Flesh), rated A by the Film Ratings Board, written by Ricky Lee, produced by Cine Suerte productions; starring Charito Solis,Vic Silayan, Phillip Salvador, Joel Torre, Cecile Castillo; Multi-awards from 1984 Metro Manila Film Festival, FAMAS, Film Academy of the Philippines, Catholic Mass Media; Gawad URIAN pelikula ng dekada 80; exhibited in Sceaux,Paris Women’s Film Festival (1985); in retrospective in Munich and Düsseldorf (1999).
- 1985: Baby Tsina, written by Ricky Lee, produced by Viva Films; starring Vilma Santos, Phillip Salvador, Caridad Sanhcez; exhibited in ASEAN Festival, Tokyo (1988).
- 1991: Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo, written by Amado Lacuesta, produced by Regal Films’ starring Lorna Tolentino, Gabby Concepcion.
- 1994 : Ikalabing-Isang Utos, produced by Regal Films; starring Aiko Melendez, Gabby Concepcion, Edu Manzano, Maricel Laxa.
- 1994 : Ipaglaban Mo, The Movie (Redeem her Honor), written by Ricky Lee, produced by Star Cinema; starring nida Blanca, Ronaldo Valdez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Chin Chin Gutierrez, Sharmaine Arnaiz, Joel Torre, Ricky Davao; exhibited at the Fukuoka International Film Festival (1995), Tokyo (1995) New Delhi (1996).
- 1995 : Milagros (Milagros), written by Rolando Tinio, produced by Crown Seven, starring Elizabeth Oropesa, Sharmaine Arnaiz, Dante Rivero, Joel Torre, Raymond Bagatsing, Noni Buencamino; exhibited at the Film Festivals of Fukuoka, Tokyo, Pusan Munich, Düsseldorf; Gawad Urian Pelikula ng Dekada 90.
- 1998 : Sa Pusod Ng Dagat (In the Navel of the Sea), written by Jun Lana, produced by GMA Films; starring Jomari Yllana, Elizabeth Oropesa, Chin Chin Gutierrez, Rolando Tinio, Jhong Hilario; exhibited at the film festivals in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Singapore, Brussels, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Pusan, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and others; NETPAC Award; FIPRESCI award.
- 1998 : José Rizal, written by Ricky Lee, Jun Lana, produced by GMA Films; starring Cesar Montano, Jaime Fabregas, Gina Alajar, Jhong Hilario, Gloria Diaz, Pen Medina; multi-awarded by the Metro Manila Film Festival (1998), Gawad Urian, Star Awards, FAMAS; commercially released at the Iwanami Hall, Tokyo (2000); exhibited at the film festivals of Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Pusan, Monteal, Vancouver, Guggenheim Museum of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Hawaii, and others.
- 1999: Muro Ami (Reef Hunters), written by Ricky Lee, Jun Lana, produced by GMA Films; starring Cesar Montano, Amy Austria, Pen Medina, Jhong Hilario; multi-awarded by the Metro Manila Film Festival (1999), FAMAS, Star Awards; exhibited in the film festivals in Fukuoka, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and others.
- 1999: Bagong Buwan (New Moon), written by Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ricky Lee, Jun Lana, produced by Bahag-Hari Productions and Star Cinema; starring Cesar Montano, Amy Austria, Caridad Sanhchez, Jhong Hilario, Noni Buencamino, Ronnie Lazaro, Jericho Rosales; rated A by the Film Ratings Board; multi-awarded by the Metro Manila Film Festival (2001); exhibited at the film festivals of Asia Society of New York, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Pusan, Hawaii, and others.
- 2003 : Noon at Ngayon (Then and Now),written by Ricky Lee, produced by Star Cinema; starring Dina Bonnevie, Laurice Guillen, Jericho Rosales, Cherrie Pie Picache, Eula Valdez, Jean Garcia ; rate A by the Cinema Evaluation Board; exhibited at the film festivals of Hawaii, Fukuoka,Tokyo, San Francisco, and others.
Videography
Diaz has also directed television shows such as the following:[3]
- Public Forum (1986-1995), a public affairs talk show hosted by Randy David.
- Sic O'Clock News (1987-1992), a news satire program.
- Various documentaries including Silsilah Dialogue Movement for God's Peace.
- Men of Light, a weekly talk show on the scriptures based in San Fernando, Pampanga, hosted by Fr. Pablo David, Fr. Raul de los Santos, and Fr. Deo Galang.
External links
- Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center
- GMA Films
- Star Cinema
- The Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute Experience
References
Categories:- Filipino film directors
- Filipino television personalities
- Filipino television directors
- Filipino educators
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Ilocano people
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