Movie: Nagalit ang Buwan sa Haba ng Gabi

Year: 1983
Artist: Laurice Guillen
Dialogue: "Ikaw pala. Ikaw pala ang sinasabi ng asawa ko na
asawa mo na asawa ng bayan!"
Movie: Paano Ba Ang Mangarap
Year: 1983
Artist: Vilma Santos
Dialogue: "Wala akong pakialam? ibalik mo sa akin si Jun-jun.
Ibalik mo sa akin ang anak ko! Ibalik mo sa akin si Jun-jun. Ibalik
mo ang... ahhhhh!"
Movie: Isang Bala Ka Lang
Year: 1983
Artist: Fernando Poe Jr.
Dialogue: Isang bala ka lang!
Movie: Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit
Year: 1984
Artist: Maricel Soriano
Dialogue: "Ayoko ng tinatapakan ako. Ayoko ng masikip, ayoko
ng mabaho, ayoko ng walang tubig, ayoko ng walang pagkain,
ayoko ng putik!"
Movie: Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin
Year: 1984
Artist: Sharon Cuneta
Dialogue: "Kung saan, kailan, at paanong labanan, magpasabi
ka lang. Hindi kita uurungan!"
Movie: Sister Stella L.
Year: 1984
Artist: Vilma Santos

Dialogue: "Kung hindi tayo kikilos sino ang kikilos? Kung hindi
ngayon, kailan pa?"
Movie: Bituing Walang Ningning
Year: 1985
Artist: Cherie Gil
Dialogue: Baliw ang nagsasabing isinilang na ang aking
karibal. Youll never make it! Youre nothing but a second-rate,
trying hard copycat!
Movie: Palimos ng Pag-ibig
Year: 1985
Artist: Vilma Santos
Dialogue:"Para kang karinderyang bukas sa lahat ng gustong
kumain"
Movie: Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig
Year: 1987
Artist: Vilma Santos
Dialogue: "Si Val! Si Val! Puro na lang si Val! Si Val na walang
malay!"
Movie: Pasan Ko ang Daigdig
Year: 1987
Artist: Sharon Cuneta
Dialogue: "Gutay-gutay na ang katawan nyo... pati na ang
kaluluwa nyo"
Movie: Kapag Puno na ang Salop
Year: 1987
Artist: Fernando Poe Jr
Dialogue: Pinuno mo na ang salop! Dapat ka nang kalusin!

Movie: Working Girls

Year: 1986
Artist: Carmi Martin
Dialogue: Sabeeeeeel! This must be love!
Movie: Nagbabagang Luha
Year: 1988
Artist: Lorna Tolentino and Alice Dixson
Dialogue: Alice: "Mamamatay ako, Ate, pag kinuha mo sa akin
si Alex"
Lorna: "Ipalilibing kita."
Alice: "Ate, please!"
Lorna: "Nung inagaw mo sa'kin si... muntik na rin akong
mamatay. Puwes, ikaw naman ngayon ang mamatay"
Movie: Kahit Konting Pagtingin
Year: 1990
Artist: Fernando Poe Jr. and Sharon Cuneta
Dialogue: FPJ: "Ang problema sa'yo, maaga kang ipinanganak."
Sharon: "Ang problema naman sa'yo, huli kang ipinanganak."
Movie: Starzan
Year: 1990
Artist: Rene Requiestas
Dialogue: Rene: cheetaehhh.ganda lalake!
Echo: Ul_L! Sinungaling! Panget! Panget!
Movie: Markang Bungo
Year: 1991
Artist: Rudy Fernandez
Dialogue: "Walang personalan, trabaho lang

Movie: Madrasta
Year: 1996
Artist: Sharon Cuneta
Dialogue: I was never your partner. Im just your wife.
Movie: Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?
Year: 1998
Artist: Carlo Aquino
Dialogue: "Akala mo lang wala... pero meron! Meron! Meron!"

Movie: Pedrong Palad

Year: 2000
Artist: Jacklyn Jose
Dialogue: "Mayroong mga bagay na hindi natin dapat makita,
pero dapat paniwalaan"

Movie: Milan
Year: 2004
Artist: Claudine Barretto
Dialogue: Mahal mo ba ako dahil kailangan mo ako o kailangan
mo lang ako kaya mahal mo ako

Movie: Mano Po 4: Ako Legal Wife

Year: 2005
Artist: Zsa Zsa Padilla, Cherrie Pie Picache and Ruffa Mae Quinto
Dialogue: Zsa Zsa Padilla: Ako Legal Wife
Cherrie Pie Picache: "Ako Lucky Wife"
Ruffa Mae Quinto: "Ako ang latest wife"

Movie: One More Chance

Year: 2007

Artist: John Lloyd Cruz

Dialogue: She loved me at my worst. You had me at my best
and you chose to break my heart

Movie: Don't Give Up On Us

Year: 2006
Artist: Judy Ann Santos
Dialogue: "May mga tao talagang naghihintay, at mga taong
meant to be"

Movie: A Love Story

Year: 2007
Artist: Angelica Panganiban
Dialogue: Hindi mo sya kailangan, kailangan ko sya!

Movie: Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme

Year: 2009
Artist: Eugene Domingo
Dialogue: "Rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac"

Movie: Status: Single

Year: 2009
Artist: Rufa Mae Quinto
Dialogue: "Ano ka ba! Hindi ako maarte, may values lang ako"

Movie: Petrang Kabayo

Year: 2010
Artist: Vice Ganda
Dialogue: Vice: "Pakipasok nga papeles ko"
Secetary: "Sa loob po ba?

Vice: "Hinde. Sa labas. Pasok mo sa labas!"

Movie: No Other Woman

Year: 2011
Artist: Anne Curtis Smith
Dialogue: "There's No Other Woman Better That I Am!"

Movie: No Other Woman

Year: 2011
Artist: Cristine Reyes
Dialogue: Alam mo kasi ang marriage parang exclusive village.
Kailangan mong bantayan para hindi makapasok ang mga
squatters."

Philippine Theater Before the Advent of Cinema

Long before the coming of cinema in the Philippines, theater originated in the
culture of the countrys early societies. Their theatron was on the ground within the
community. The ritual practitioners in their dance-dramas used imitative dances to
propitiate the supernatural powers that were believed to control forces to regulate the
seasons and elements; to ensure the earths fertility; and to grant the tribe success in
hunting and warfare.
At the turn of the 19th century, the zarzuela, a traditional Spanish one-act comic
opera with satirical theme; and the vaudeville, a stage show consisting of various acts,
such as singing,dancing and comedy, became famous and prominent among the
Filipinos. These were shown and performed at town fiestas where Filipino viewers go
eagerly from different parts of the province so as not to miss the stage plays.
The Spanish Operetta or musical comedy introduced by a political deportee from
Spain, Don Narciso de Escosura, at Teatro de Binondo or Castellano in 1848, was given
impetus by Don Alejandro Cubero, the father of Spanish zarzuela in the Philippines, at
Teatro Filipino on Calle Echague.
The Tagalog zarzuela found a home at Teatro Zorilla, the only surviving 19th
century theater located at the corner of Calle San Pedro ( now Evangelista ) and
abbreviated the Iris which formed part of Calle Azcarraga (now Recto). It provided ready
material for the nascent Filipino silent motion picture.
The Advent of Cinema in the Philippines
During the last decade of the 19th century, in 1896, a Spaniard by the name of
Pertierra, prepared to launch his first movie show in Manila at Christmas Time. The
venue was to be at Salon de Pertierra, which he established nine months earlier as the
Phonograph Parlor on the ground floor of the Casino Espanol at Calle Perez, off the
Escolta. But for some reasons still unknown to this writing, Pertierra failed to make his
presentation despite several published announcements to this effect. The show kept
being postponed until the New Year.
Finally, on January 1, 1897, the first four movies namely, Un Homme Au
Chapeau (Man with a Hat), Une scene de danse Japonaise (Scene from a Japanese
Dance), Les Boxers (The Boxers), and La Place de L Opera(The Place L Opera), were
shown via 60mm Gaumont Chrono-photograph projector at the Salon de Pertierra at no.
12 Escolta.
Other countries, such as France, England, and Germany have their claims to the
introduction of publicly projected motion picture but the corresponding credit should
have been given to Mr. Pertierra and the centennial anniversary of the first movie shown
in the Philippines should have been commemorated on January 1, 1997

The Arrival of Lumiere Cinematograph

Antonio Ramos, a Spanish soldier from Alhama de Aragon, who had arrived earlier
in the year with the Batallon de Cazadores (Hunters Batallion), which had been sent
to quell the Philippine revolution, was able to import a Lumiere Cinematograph from
Paris. With it he bought 30 film titles. He did the acquisition with his savings, and
evidently, with the financial backing of Liebman and Peritz.
By August, 1897, Liebman and Peritz presented the first movies on the Lumiere
Cinematograph in Manila. The new cine was set up at Escolta, corner San Jacinto, the
hall formerly occupied by the Ullman Jewelry shop. A test preview was presented to a
limited number of guests on August 28. The inaugural show was presented to the
general public the next day, August 29, 1897.
During the first three weeks, Ramos had a selection of ten different films to show,
but by the fourth week, he was forced to shuffle the 30 films in various combinations to
produce new programs. These were four viewing sessions, every hour on the hour,
from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. After three months, attendance began to slacken for failure
to show any new feature. They transferred the viewing hall to a warehouse in Plaza
Goiti and reduced the admission fees. By the end of November, the movie hall closed
down.
The First Movie Shot in the Philippines
Impelled desperately to attract patronage and as a matter of survival, Ramos,
using the Lumiere as a camera, locally filmed Panorama de Manila (Manila
landscape), Fiesta de Quiapo (Quiapo Fiesta), Puwente de Espaa(Bridge of Spain),
and Esceas Callejeras (Street scenes), in 1898. Notwithstanding the possibility that
some cameramen aboard an ocean liner or naval expedition might have earlier filmed
the enchanting panorama of Manila, Antonio Ramos thus became the first motion
picture producer in the Philippines.
Among the pioneers who left documentary evidences of their visits to the
Philippines were: Burton Holmes, father of the Travelogue who made the first of
several visits in 1899; and made the Battle of Baliwag; Kimwood Peters who shot
the Banawe Rice Terraces and Raymond Ackerman of American Biography and
Mutoscope who filmed Filipino Cockfight and the Battle of Mt. Arayat.
In 1905, Herbert Wyndham, shot scenes at the Manila Fire Department; Albert
Yearsly shot the Rizal Day Celebration in Luneta 1909; in 1910, the Manila Carnival; in
1911, the Eruption of Mayon Volcano; the firstAirplane Flight Over Manila by Bud Mars
and the Fires of Tondo, Pandacan and Paco; and, in 1912, the Departure of the Igorots
to Barcelona and the Typhoon in Cebu.
Filmmakers, indeed, covered wide ranges of the Philippines: Zamboanga children
diving for coins thrown from the ships deck; Muslim ladies ogling at the camera; fiestas,

carabao races, fluvial parades, religious processions, panoramic shots of Philippine

cities and towns; gold mining in Paracale; concerts at the Luneta, or the construction of
the Manila Hotel on land reclaimed from the Manila Bay.
The Establishment of Movie Houses
Film showing was not resumed until 1900. The man who opened the first hall
exclusively for movie viewing that year was a British named Walgrah who naturally
called his establishment Cine Walgrah, located at No. 60 Calle Santa Rosa in
Intramuros. The second movie house was opened in 1902 by a Spanish entrepreneur,
Samuel Rebarber, who called his building, Gran Cinematografo Parisien, located at No.
80, Calle Crespo, Quiapo. In 1903, Jose Jimenez, a stage backdrop painter, set up the
first Filipino-owned movie theater, the Cinematograpo Rizal. This was located on
Azcarraga street, in front of Tutuban Train Station
The assurance of abundant and continuous supply of films at cheap introductory
prices brought a landslide of movie theaters. The first of these was Cine Anda which
opened on August 8, 1909, operated by two American Manila Policemen, Frank H.
Goulette and Eddie Teague, others followed: It, Paz, Cabildo, Empire,
Majestic,Comedis, Apollo, Ideal, Luz and Gaity appeared
between
1909
and
1911. Zorilla, the vanguard of zarzuela and opera presentations, switched to showing
films in late 1909, while Grand Opera House began to include movies in-between
vaudeville number in 1910. Likewise, moviehouses mushroomed in the Provinces which
had electricity . To date, among Asean countries, the Philippines has myriad
moviehouses established from the urban to the remotest rural areas.
First Feature Film Produced in the Philippines
The first story film made in the Philippines- Rose of the Philippines may have been
produced on location in Manila in 1909 by the IMP Company Carl Laemmeles
Independent Moving Picture Company, out of which grew the Universal Pictures
Corporation. Some film historians dispute this contending it must have been a slide
show. But the IMP released this 760 foot film (eight minutes screening time) in the U.S.
theaters in January, 1910. When it was released in Manila in 1911, Rose of the
Philippines, was advertised in the Manila Times as among the first films produced
locally-a dramatic story from the days of the Empire.
The First Movie with Sound
The first picture with sound reached Manila in 1910, using the Chronophone. But,
remember, the silent movies were never shown in silence starting with the first show in
1897. There was always a gramophone, a piano, or a quartet, or when Caviria was
shown at the Manila Grand Opera House a 200 man choir.
By 1930, the talking pictures was already one year old in the country with the
showing of Syncopation, the first American sound film, in Radio theater, Plaza Santa

Cruz. The event naturally incited competition among local producers and filmmakers as
to who would create the countrys first talkie. On December 8, 1932, an article came out
in Graphic magazine featuring the movie, Ang Aswang (The Vampire). The feature
enthused that the said film will be the countrys first talkie. Apparently, as attested by
those who remember, the film did not turn out to be a completely sound film. In all
likelihood, the honor of having made the very first talkie properly belongs to Jose
Nepomuceno. His Film Punyal na Guinto (Golden Dagger), which premiered on March
9, 1933, at the Lyric theater, was credited as the first completely sound movie to alltalking picture.
The Film Marketing in the Philippines
In 1912, New York and Hollywood film companies started to establish their own
agencies in Manila to distribute films. By 1915, the best films of both Europe and U.S.
were being enjoyed by Filipino audiences in Manila and the Provinces.
When World War I (1914-1918) choked off the production of European studios,
Manila theater managers turned to U.S. for new film products. With the variety they
offered, American Production-distribution-exhibition combinations quickly dominated the
Philippine film market. It has stayed that way since then until now!
The Golden Episodes in Philippine Cinema
In 1937, the first Filipino movie to achieve international plaudit was Zamboanga, a
picture starred in by Fernando Poe and Rosa del Rosario. Hollywood director Frank
Capra praised the film as the most exciting and beautiful picture of native life he had
ever seen. Manuel Condes Genghis Khan, released in 1950 was a rave at the Venice
Film Festival in 1952; and dubbed in French, it was shown in Paris in 1954. Inspired by
Condes picture, Hollywood remade Genghis Khan, with John Wayne as its lead actor.
The people who had seen both pictures adjudged that the latter was incomparable to
the former in terms of authenticity.
Undoubtedly, the 5th and the 6th decades were the Golden age of Philippine
cinema with subsequent films making a mark in the overseas scene: Kandelerong
Pilak, Ifugao, Anak Dalita, Badjao, Anak ng Dagat, to name just a few, swept awards at
the Cambodian, Asia and Berlin Film Festivals. Even at the annual Asian Film Festival
with a dozen countries taking turns in hosting the major filmfest (now the Asia-Pacific
Film Festival with 18 countries), there was a tacit acceptance that the Philippine cinema
was, at the time, the undisputed leader in the continents film scene.
The First Color Film in the Philippines
A British film crew also visited the Philippines, and filmed, among other scenes, the
Pagsanjan Falls (Oriental, 1911) in kinemakolor. Bert Yearleys Oriental Films, which
commissioned this production, generated some excitement by offering six months free
movie passes to the lucky movie patron who could guess to the closes minute the

arrival of the steamship Empress Russia which was bringing the processed film from
London. During the 5th decade of the 20th century, Filipinos awesomely seen
Hollywoods first full length picture in living Technicolor. Filipino local producers
presented too, during this period, their own full length pictures in color and one of which
was Prinsipe Amante (Prince Amante). But inevitably, the color was imperfect due to
technical deficiency. However, Filipino technicians were quick to cope up with the fast
technical development, so that by the turn of the 6th decade, they succeeded in
presenting to the public some full length pictures in living Eastmancolor, one of which
was Ito ang Pilipino, by J.E. Production. The lead actor was Mr. Joseph Estrada himself.
By the turn of the 7th decade, local producers and filmmakers ceased to produce
pictures in black and white.
Censorship and Taxes on Philippine Cinema
The Government established the Board of Censors for cinematographic films in
1912, It was in constant operation until it was superseded by the Board of Censorship
for Moving Pictures in 1929. This is now the Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board (MTRCB).
The government also imposed the first taxes on film in 1915, the same year income
taxes were imposed. Direct taxes were slapped by the national government on
kinetoscope, biographs, cinematographs, magic lanterns and similar picture-projecting
devices.
Decrying that the imposition of government amusement tax (G.A.T.) was
confiscatory, the film producers and distributors pleaded: Moving pictures have
provided more people in every country of the world with wholesome amusement and at
a price that the poorest can pay than any amusement invented since the world began,
and have become almost a necessity to a great many people of all classes, and
nowhere are they considered a luxury. Nevertheless, the Bureau of Internal Revenue
started collecting taxes on film in 1916.
The First Film Producers Association
The first association of motion picture producers and distributors was organized in
1911 by American, Spanish, Filipino producers and theater managers to fight the
impending imposition of censorship, and later to lobby against taxes. It was censorship
that caused them to unite; it was taxes that made their union permanent.
During the 5th decade, however, film productions became one of the major
industries of the country. It contributed to the national government hundreds of million
pesos in terms of revenues. The hope of the filmmakers and distributors to eliminate
taxes waned out as their enthusiasm in the struggle to fight censorship withered away.
The Creation of the Film Academy

Realizing the importance and the contributory value of the movie industry to the
government; and to have a closer supervision and extend the much needed assistance
to the industry, a Presidential Decree was issued creating the Film Academy of the
Philippines. Under its umbrella are the different organizations and guilds of the
industrys working forces, to wit:

MOWELFUND Movie Welfare Fund

KAPP Katipunan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
KDPP -Kapisanan ng mga Director ng Pelikulang Pilipino
DGPI Directors Guild of the Philippines, Inc.
SGP Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines
FEGMP Film Editors Guild for Motion Pictures
PDGP -Production Designers Guild of the Philippines
STAMP Sound Technicians Association for Motion Pictures
ADPM Assistant Directors and Production Managers
FSC Filipino Society of Cinematographers
UFIMDAP United Film Music Directors Association of the Philippines
OSFILM Organization of Specialized Filmmakers
AFW Actors Workshop Foundation
PMPPA Philippine Motion Picture Producers Association
MPDAP Movie Producers & Distributors Association of the Philippines

Film as an Effective Medium

It was Jose Nepomuceno who came on the scene and realized the challenge and
promise of cinema from a different perspective. He saw cinema, not only as a profitable
entertainment fare, but as a unique medium with which to document the unfolding
development of the Philippines.
It is interesting to read an observation of a film reviewer in the The Citizen who,
after seeing NepomucenosDalagang Bukid in 1919, was convinced that excellent local
movies could project the Philippine condition abroad as no other medium could. To
quote:
It is a sad truth to mention that our country is practically unknown in most part of
the globe. Now, more than ever, the world needs much enlightenment with regard to our
situation so that our foreign commerce may expand and tourists may visit our shores.
We hope to make the Philippines the veritable Garden of the Far East in the eyes of the
commercial world, and to enhance this idea, the motion picture is an essential factor.
Pictures depicting the various phases of Philippine life and customs, if exhibited in
China, Japan, India,America, Australia and Europe, will do much toward giving the
people of these countries a fair and correct view of our home affairs. It appears
therefore, highly propitious to develop this all important industry which, if realized, will

assist materially in putting the Philippines on the map as an enlightened, progressive

and industrious nation.
Seventy five years later, (and to the present) the coveted objective of the patriotic
reviewer, is still a goal of the Philippine film industry.
Governments Recognition of Cinemas Relevance
The Philippine Commission recognized early the potential of cinema as a tool of
communication and information, so that in 1909, the Bureau of Science bought a
complete filmmaking unit and laboratory from Pathe, and sent its chief photographer,
the American, Charles Martin, to France to train for a year. When Martin completed his
training, he resolved to document, in motion pictures, the varied aspects of the
Philippines its folkways and dances, for instance, or its natural resources. He had
many lucky breaks; his film crew was at Taal Batangas, when the Taal Volcano erupted
in 1911. His film of this visually exciting natural disaster was shown around the world.
Government filmmaking ranged from recording life among the cultural communities
for the Department of Interior to making how-to movies for the Bureau of Health and
Education. By 1914, the U.S. colonial government was already using films as a vehicle
for information, education, propaganda and entertainment. The Bureau of Science
tackled subjects designed to present an accurate picture of the Philippines before the
American public, particularly the U.S. Congress.
For example, the acclaimed films exhibited at the Panama Exposition in 1915
depicted several industries of the city and provinces, among them hat-making, salt
manufacture, nipa cultivation and manufacture in its many phases, rice cultivation, the
many kinds of weaving by Christians and non-Christians, native blacksmithing, the
Chinese macaroni and chocolate making, and scores of others.
The Manila publication, The Citizen credits cinema advertisements flashed in
movie theaters for he success of the national campaign to raise funds to buy one
submarine for the American war effort during World War I.
The national government made plans to produce its own films as the most effective
means of reaching the masses. At the same time, it resolved to establish a national
repository for films, as a treasure trove for future generations.
The Effect of Global Economic Trends on Cinema
The nascent shifting of industrial society to information society has resulted to a
single economy in the world; and because of this unprecedented period of accelerated
change, the players and participants of the global economy has become individuals and
small entrepreneurs. The shift is an economic reality, and not an intellectual abstraction.
The innovations in communications and computer technology accelerated the pace of
change by collapsing the information float. New information technologies give birth to

new activities, processes, and products. Huge business companies are forced to
downsize in order to survive in this global economic trends.
Big movie studios in Hollywood, such as 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount,
Columbia, Universal; and in the Philippines- the famous Big-Four- Premiere Production,
Sampaguita Pictures, LVN Studio, Lebran Production, are all virtually closed down due
to the proliferation of individual and collective modes of film production. Nevertheless,
the film industry remains steadfast. Like an old soldier, it may fade for a while, but it
shall never die!

They are the leaders in the Philippine cinema who never ceased to amaze us with their iconic
movies that became the all-time favorite of Filipinos. But their films did not only win the hearts of
locals; they also earned international recognition.
In this article, we reveal the ten internationally acclaimed Filipino directors who made a history in the
Philippine and international filmmaking industry.

1. Lino Brocka

Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) best director awardee in 1970, 1974, 1975,
1979, and 1990, Lino Brocka is one of the greatest Filipino directors. He was even a recipient of the
prestigious National Artist of the Philippines for Film Award in 1997 because of his significant
contribution to the development of Philippine arts.

His 1976 film Insiang was the first Filipino film showcased in Cannes Film Festival. In 1980 and
1984, respectively, his two films Jaguar and Bayan Ko were nominated for the Palme dOr, the
highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

2. Eddie Romero

One of the finest filmmakers in the country, Eddie Romero is FAMASs best director in 1966 and
1980. He is also noted for bringing back to life Jose Rizals novel Noli Me Tangere in a thirteen-part
television series.
Romero has also made films in English language (Beast of Blood, The Woman Hunt) and worked
with some American actors like John Ashley and Pam Grier.

3. Marilou Diaz-Abaya

Awarded best director for four nonconsecutive years by FAMAS, Marilou Diaz-Abaya was known for
her 1998 film Jose Rizal. The said film had also earned her a best director award from Metro Manila
Film Festival (MMFF).
Abaya was a Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize recipient in 2001. She also received awards from the
British Film Institute, International Federation of Film Critics, and Network for the Promotion of Asian
Cinema.

4. Cirio H. Santiago

Founder of Manilas Premier Production, Cirio Santiago is a two-time winner of FAMASs best
director award. He directed English language films like Savage, TNT Jackson, and Firehawk. He
also directed films in Vietnam and had worked with US-based producers and directors like Roger
Corman, Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante, and Carl Franklin.

5. Lav Diaz

Independent filmmaker Lavrente Indico Diaz received several international awards, which include
Best Picture Award in Singapore International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize at the Fribourg
International Festival, Golden Lion Special Mention in Venice Film Festival, Orizzonti Grand Prize at
the 65th Venice International Film Festival, and Best Asian Film in Jeonju International Film Festival.
His film was screened in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and during last years Locarno International
Film Festival, he was awarded with the Golden Leopard Award.

6. Vicente Salumbides

Founder of the Salumbides Film Company in the Philippines, Vicente Salumbides is an actor,
director, and writer who practiced his craft in Hollywood. He is locally known for his film Florante and
Laura and Ibong Adarna. His other movies include Miracles of Love, Fate or Consequence, and The
Soul Saver.

7. Ishmael Bernal

Mentor of fellow director Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ishmael Bernal is the director behind the famous
classic film Himala.
Declared as National Artist of the Philippines in 2001, Bernal has won several local and international
awards such as CMMA Best Director Award in Chicago International Film Festival in 1983 and
ASEAN Cultural Award in Communication Arts in Brunei in 1993.

8. Brillante Mendoza

Film director from Pampanga, Brillante Mendoza brilliantly made his way from the local scene to
the international film industry. He was named as the best director during the Cannes Film Festival in
2009, and his film was named the best in the Dubai International Film Festival in the same year.
His 2012 film Thy Womb, which starred Nora Aunor, was also nominated in the 69th Venice
International Film Festival.

9. Tikoy Aguiluz

Founder of Cinemanila International Film Festival and co-founder of University of Philippines Film
Institute, Tikoy Aguiluz was the recipient of John D. Rockefeller III grant to study filmmaking in
New York University. His films won the silver trophy in the Young Filmmakers of Asia Festival in Iran
and the Grand Jury Prize at the Brussels International Film Festival.

10. Maryo J. delos Reyes

Maryo J. delos Reyes is the director behind the iconic film Magnifico, which earned him the Crystal
Bear Award for Best Feature Film in Berlin International Film Festival and the Special Jury Award in

Brussels International Independent Film Festival, all in 2004. His other films
include Naglalayagand A Love Story.
These are just ten of the hundreds of talented Filipino filmmakers and directors whose ingenuity
when it comes to the film industry made a significant contribution not just to the Philippine cinema
but also to the international film scene.