Happy Birthday, Lino Brocka! Born today in 1939 as Catalino Ortiz Brocka, this Filipino film director is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant Filipino filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema.
Born in Pilar, Sorsogon, Luzon, Philippines, Brocka was the son of a fisherman and schoolteacher.
Years later, Brocka spent two years as a Mormon missionary in Hawaii's Molokai leper colony.
While there, he worked his way up in theater, splitting his time between commercial soap operas and films of personal interest.
The latter dealt increasingly with the troubled lives of homosexuals in the conservative, heavily Catholic Philippines.
When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent missionaries to the country of The Philippines, Broka was one of the first converts, earning him forever a place in LDS history and film history.
Although he was not an active church-goer in his latter life, one of his films drew on his missionary experiences from the Hawaiian leper colony.
Brocka directed many landmark films. Among his credits, he is best known for directing the 1975 Filipino drama/mystery film 'Maynila, sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag' ('Manila in the Claws of Light') and the 1976 Filipino drama film 'Insiang'.
The former was based off of Filipino novelist Edgardo M. Reyes' 1986 political fiction novel 'Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag' ('In the Claws of Brightness'). The story was originally serialized in Liwayway magazine from 1966 to 1967.
The film follows Julio Madiaga (Bembol Roco), a fisherman from a poor area.
He later descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one, Ligaya Paraiso (Hilda Koronel).
Through ‘Claws of Light’, Brocka had achieved international acclaim with this candid portrait of 1970s Manila; a breakout example of the more serious-minded filmmaking the director had turned to after building a career on mainstream movies he described as “soaps.”
Mixing visceral, documentary-like realism with the narrative focus of Hollywood noir and melodrama, ‘Manila in the Claws of Light’ is a howl of anguish from one of the most celebrated figures in Philippine cinema.
Along with other activists, including his close friend, Filipino artist and activist Benjamin Roberto "Behn" H. Cervantes, Brocka was arrested and detained in the 1970s.
Throughout his career, Brocka had also directed other landmark films.
These included ‘Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang' (‘Weighed But Found Wanting’) (1974), ‘Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim' (‘This Is My Country’) (1984), and 'Orapronobis' (‘Fight for Us’) (1989).
In 1983, Brocka co-founded the organization Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), dedicated to helping artists address issues confronting the country, and the Free the Artist Movement. He led the organization for two years.
Two years later, Brocka became a Ramon Magsaysay awardee. He was honored for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts.
The award is annually given to Asian individuals and organizations for achieving excellence in their respective fields.
The following year, Brocka had been a member of the jury at the 39th Cannes Film Festival in May 1986.
Five years later, Brocka passed in a road accident in Quezon City, Philippines on May 21, 1991. He was 52.
Brocka was later posthumously given the National Artist of the Philippines for Film award. This was for "having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts".
A National Artist in The Philippines, it was given in 1997, six years after his death.
This was for his anti-martial-law sentiments against politician, lawyer, kleptocrat and 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr.
When one considers Brocka's themes, it is clear that his films were deeply influenced by many Latter-day Saint values, even while portraying and accepting some non-LDS values.
The other trademarks in Brocka's films included being rich in realism and social commentary. They also included a character(s) wielding a pointed or sharp object.
According to his personal life, Brocka was the uncle of American television and film director Q. Allan Brocka. He is gay, and is based in West Hollywood.
Throughout his career, Brocka had gained attention in the international film community for his films about the Marcos dictatorship.
Brocka once said, "They may gag and blindfold you, silence and imprison you, but they will never be able to destroy what made you an artist in the first place- your brave and continuing dedication to the human race."
Brocka had been active from 1970–1991.
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