Catalino Ortiz Brocka
Pilar, Sorsogon 7 April 1939 - Quezon City 22 May 1991
Profile:
While pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in English literature at the University of the Philippines, Lino Brocka became a very active member of the UP Dramatic Club as he was keen on becoming an actor. After a stint as a missionary in Hawaii, he joined the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and soon became its executive director. He also penned and directed episodes for the television shows Balintataw, Lino Brocka Presents, Hilda, Tanghalan and others. The first film he directed, Wanted: Perfect Mother, was a box-office success in 1970.
After a string of hits, he was disgusted with rampant commercialism of local films and temporarily left the industry in 1972. He bounced back in 1974 with a production he formed with his friends. He megged Tinimbang Ka Nguni't Kulang - a daring motion picture that proved to be a landmark in the then wasteland of Philippine movies. His films were soon being screened to international acclaim. These include Insiang (Directors' Fortnight, Cannes, 1977), Jaguar (Main Competition, Cannes, 1980), Bona (Directors' Fortnight, Cannes, 1981), Cain At Abel (Main Competition, San Sebastian, 1982), Angela Merkado (Grand Prix, Festival of Three Continents, Nantes, 1983), Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim (Main Competition, Cannes, 1984; Best Picture of the Year, British Film Institute, 1984; Official Philippine Entry, Academy Awards, USA, 1985), Orapronobis (Directors' Fortnight, Cannes, 1989). Brocka was against censorship and repression in all its forms.
He was very active in the Free the Artist Movement which evolved into the Concerned Artists of the Philippines. He also spearheaded the founding of the Director's Guild of the Philippines. In 1997, he was conferred the posthumous distinction of National Artist for Film that fitly caps the innumerable awards he bagged in his lifetime. More than six years after his untimely demise, he remains the most acclaimed filmmaker in the history of Philippine cinema.
In the history of Philippine movies, no other director could match Brocka's record in terms of garnered accolade and recognition. Certainly one of Philippine cinema's most recognizable auteurs, he proved to be a most consummate artist in the truest sense of the word. Such had been the intensity and immensity of Brocka's dedication to his art that he fought and struggled for his rights to practice and nourish it. At the time that it was very precarious to be so, he was one of the staunchest defenders of creative freedom. He yearned and yelled for freedom in casting fiery images on screen as much as in the conduct of his everyday life. He was a social critic in his capacity both as a filmmaker and as a private individual. His films are replete with characters whose doomed lives are forged in the furnace of oppression. In reel or real terms, he actually took cudgels for them and carried the torch of seeking change and redemption.
It could not be overly stated that a very basic correlation exists between Brocka's art and life on one hand and the nation's date with destiny on the other. Thus, it is most fitting that he is hailed as national artist in between the twin observance of the centennials of Philippine revolution and Philippine independence. It is the spirit of both momentous instances in the history of Philippine nationhood that had always energized Brocka's cinematic pursuit.
(UPshots 3: Free the Artist!, February 1998)
Filmography
1970 - 1991
1970
WANTED: PERFECT MOTHER
SANTIAGO
1971
TUBOG SA GINTO
NOW
LUMUHA PATI MGA ANGHEL
CADENA DE AMOR
STARDOOM
1972
VILLA MIRANDA
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
1974
TINIMBANG KA NGUNIT KULANG
TATLO, DALAWA, ISA
1975
MAYNILA, SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG
DUNG-AW
1976
LUNES, MARTES, MIYERKULES, HUWEBES, BIYERNES, SABADO, LINGGO
INSIANG
1977
TAHAN NA EMPOY, TAHAN
TADHANA: ITO ANG LAHING PILIPINO - REFORM MOVEMENT EPISODE
INAY
1978
MANANAYAW (The Dancer)
ANG TATAY KONG NANAY
GUMISING KA MARUJA
HAYOP SA HAYOP
RUBIA SERVIOS
1979
INIT
INA, KAPATID, ANAK
JAGUAR
INA KA NG ANAK MO
1980
NAKAW NA PAG-IBIG
ANGELA MARKADO
BONA
1981
BURGIS
KONTROBERSYAL
HELLO, YOUNG LOVERS
BINATA SI MISTER, DALAGA SI MISIS
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
1982
PX
IN DIS CORNER
PALIPAT-LIPAT, PAPALIT-PALIT
MOTHER DEAR
CAIN AT ABEL
1983
STRANGERS IN PARADISE
HOT PROPERTY
1984
BAYAN KO: KAPIT SA PATALIM
ADULTERY (Aida Macaraeg Case No. 7892)
AKIN ANG IYONG KATAWAN
1985
MIGUELITO, ANG BATANG REBELDE
WHITE SLAVERY
ANO ANG KULAY NG MUKHA NG DIYOS
NAPAKASAKIT KUYA EDDIE
1987
MAGING AKIN KA LAMANG
PASAN KO ANG DAIGDIG
1988
TATLONG MUKHA NG PAG-IBIG - "ANG SILID"
NATUTULOG PA ANG DIYOS
1989
MACHO DANCER
KAILAN MAHUHUGASAN ANG KASALANAN
ORAPRONOBIS
BABANGON AKO'T DUDURUGIN KITA
1990
KUNG TAPOS NA ANG KAILANMAN
GUMAPANG KA SA LUSAK
HAHAMAKIN LAHAT
HOW ARE THE KIDS
BIKTIMA
AMA, BAKIT MO AKO PINABAYAAN
1991
SA KABILA NG LAHAT
KISLAP SA DILIM
MAKIUSAP SA DIYOS
