Pinoy Director Focus: Mike de Leon

Itim (1976)

Number of films (as director): 14

Number of awards: 10 wins (including: 1 FAP Award; 5 Gawad Urian Awards)

Most important films: Itim (1976); Kakaba-kaba Ka Ba? (1980); Kisapmata (1981); Batch '81 (1982); Sister Stella L. (1984); Bayaning Third World (2000). Kisapmata and Batch '81 were included in the Directors' Fortnight of the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Sister Stella L. was an entry in the 1985 Venice Film Festival.

Kakaba-kaba Ka Ba? (1980)


Kisapmata (1981)

Batch '81 (1982)

My favorite Mike de Leon films: Bayaning Third World, Itim, Sister Stella L.

Bayaning Third World (2000)


Sister Stella L. (1984)

Popularity: Though not as generally revered as Lino Brocka or Ishmael Bernal, de Leon is considered by most Filipino cineastes as a major player in the Second Golden Age of Philippine Cinema (1970s to early 1980s). Film fans praise him for being perhaps the most consistently excellent filmmaker of his generation, probably since.

Current status: Last film was Bayaning Third World in 2000.

Image source: Video 48
Information source: IMDb