Ishmael Bernal was born on September 30, 1938. He is hailed
to be “the genius of the Philippine Cinema.” Bernal truly loved theater and the
arts, he was an active member of the UP Dramatic Club while at the same time
studying in college. His films revolved around themes of feminism and moral
issues in the country. Just like Brocka, he tackles and evades the stereotypes
that surround the marginalized sectors of society. His films show the urban
life and the cynicism that reside in it. He has won a lot of awards including
one from the Chicago Film Festival, where he won a bronze for his film Himala
(1982). He was awarded the National Artist award in 2001 after his death
“I always investigate, question, and unravel the hypocrisy
of society, of established mores. I consciously depart from stereotypes to show
that people, whether prostitutes, drug addicts, philosophers, or professors can
behave unpredictably. I don’t dwell on the pagmumulat (awakening) thing —
poverty is caused by class contradictions, etc. — we know all that. What I do
is I try to deconstruct the genres, to make them seem formless and amorphous.
My themes are decadence of urban life, human perversion, the demon in all of
us, cynicism about life.”
sources:
https://www.bworldonline.com/manila-then-and-now-seen-through-brocka-and-bernal/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0076075/awards?ref_=nm_ql_op_1