An Insurmountable Grief And Sorrow Eliciting A Thin On The ground undertone reverberated across the globe when the news of the passing of
internationally renowned and award-winning Filipino film director, screenwriter, and producer Mike de Leon spread across social media on August 28, 2025.
As a broadcast media practitioner who has known him personally way back in the Philippines, I pondered with sadness while reading the tributes from his colleagues, cinephiles, and film institutes that were pouring throughout the day.
I could not escape the indescribable impact that de Leon’s passing has created, simply because it struck a particular chord that is too familiar with Filipinos to sympathize with. An iconic figure is gone, and what de Leon left is a hefty stock of indelible accomplishments and stories, a legacy worth putting a spotlight on.
Mike de Leon’s films reflect the enormity of his artistic contribution during the second golden age of Philippine cinema. From the making of his first short film, “Bisperas”, in 1972 up until his last feature film, “Citizen Jake” in 2018, de Leon nurtured his tenacity to write, direct, and produce thematic issues that magnify societal flaws of the Philippine nation he seemed urgent to disseminate to the Filipino people.
That for every film he has written, directed, and produced, it bears an unmistakable responsibility to highlight the ugly truth about a fissured political system nuanced with the absurdity of some Filipino cultural norms.
De Leon began his own limelight when he produced and became the cinematographer of the late National artist director Lino Brocka’s film, “Maynila, Sa Kuko ng Liwanag” in 1975. This film paved the way for De Leon to direct and produce his own feature film, “Itim”.
His filmography comprises an impresive line-up of award-winning and pioneering feature movies that have been showcased in Cannes, TIFF, and other major international film festivals around the world: “Itim” in 1976, “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising” in 1977, “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?” in 1980, “Kisapmata” in 1981, “Batch ’81″ in 1981, “Sister Stella L.” in 1984, “Bilanggo sa Dilim” in 1986, “Aliwan Paradise” in 1993, “Bayaning 3rd World” in 2000, and “Citizen Jake” in 2018.
Right after the EDSA revolution in 1986, De Leon pioneered the world of independent filmmaking via his movie, “Bilanggo sa Dilim.” He adapted John Fowles’s novel, “The Collector” , co-writing the script of “Bilanggo sa Dilim” with two other brilliant screenwriters, Jose Almojuela, and 2024 Canadian PAFIOO Presidential Awardee, CMMA awardee, poet, artist, writer, and creative director Roberto “Bobby” Lavidez.
Bilanggo sa Dilim sets the record as the first Filipino feature-length film shot entirely on analog video.
Consequently, this film unfurled a promising future and trailblazed a brighter path for indie films when it premiered at the 1st Independent Film and Video Festival at Wave Cinema in August 1986.
De Leon’s list of movies may not be as extensive as the works of two other celebrated film icons, Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal; yet each and every f ilm De Leon created historically positions Philippine cinema on the foreground.
For every de Leon feature film that hit the theatres in Manila since 1976, it generated powerful raves and reviews that led to numerous nominations and awards. It caught the attention of international film audiences and critics, elevating his stature alongside other global film icons.
As the grandson of LVN Pictures founder Narcisa “Sisang” de Leon, Mike De Leon endeavoured over the years to restore not just his own films but also that of LVN’s vast collection of remarkable movies. De Leon partnered with international entities and personalities like Martin Scorsese in order to properly bring back the vivid image and colour of cinematic narratives. His politically charged film, “Sister Stella L.”, is currently finishing its restoration process.
In 2022, De Leon published a two-volume memoir, “Last Look Back” that contains his life and legacy as a premier director of Philippine cinema.
He wrote: “My films are proof that once upon a time, I walked this earth. Along with the story of LVN, they are the best things I can leave behind…. Last Look Back is my latest, perhaps my last film.”
During the launch of De Leon’s Blu-ray Boxset film collection in 2023 at UP
Film Centre, De Leon appealed directly to his fellow Filipinos in his speech: “Fellow FIlipinos, perhaps the films were made for another time that is long past, but since that past has come back to haunt us and yes, rule over us again, the films have become a stark reminder that nothing much has changed or will ever change in this country…
In the same year in 2022, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York gathered some of De Leon’s films and presented them to the public as part of De Leon’s own retrospective. Though some institutions and award giving bodies like Gawad Urian bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award to him
in 2014 and Gawad CCP recognized him with the Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 2024, he declined to receive them, stating personal reasons.
Suffice it to say, he has long been well overdue to receive the National Artist for Film. After all, he shares equal footing with his contemporary masters, then, now, and for as long as Philippine cinema is alive.As fragile creatures, we always pine for an immortal existence, clinging to an illusion of infinity that would allow us to consummate a happy existence until we take our final breath. We nurture our reverie to relish life in an ethereal world despite its inevitable decadence.
And then, there is the power of filmmaking that abridges reality and fiction with a visionary like Mike de Leon who captures these overtones through cinematic rupture that resonate throughout the halls of cinema across the globe.
Director Mike de Leon may no longer be in our midst to constantly remind the entire nation about the perennial problems of Philippine society; but his films will outlast every ounce of every Filipino’s short memory. That for every tribute poured and every remembrance observed, the promise of hope for his beloved Philippines will persist to belabour for change. That someday, as his films continue to echo in every film festival, De Leon’s utopian dream of awakening the consciousness of the Filipino people may f inally come into full fruition.
As Sister Stella L. clearly underscored De Leon’s sentiments in his film: “Kung hindi tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos? Kung hindi ngayon, kelan pa?”
Salute, Director Mike. You have surpassed your works beyond expectation.
Thank you for everything that you have done for Philippine cinema. *****
Bilango sa Dilim’s Co-writer – Poet, Artist, and creative director Roberto “Bobby”Lavidez with Film director, cinematographer, writer and producer Mike de Leon, and director Mike’s german shepherd Kulas who had a cameo role in the film. Photo credit Joyne Lavides
Joyne Lavides is a freelance art, culture, & film critic, multi-media artist, broadcast journalist, writer, publisher, and film editor & producer. Publisher of Kultura Canadian Multicultural Magazine of the Arts; Founder of Womenpower International; and co-host of Taglish Radio show,CFMU-FM. Former female voice-over announcer of GMA-7 television in Manila; Host of her own radio program, Sunday Joy, at DZBB-AM; and Talent Voice-Over Announcer for various television and radio commercials in the Philippines