On the eve of National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal’s reinterment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Bernal’s family, friends, and colleagues from UP gathered in a funeral vigil at La Funeraria Paz in Quezon City on Friday, Sept. 13, to honor the late filmmaker’s life in and invaluable legacy to Philippine cinema.
Associate Professor Nick Deocampo of the UP Film Institute (UPFI) recounted in his tribute how Bernal supported him and Professor Sari Raissa Dalena, former UPFI director, when they were still young filmmakers. Dalena was also present during the funeral vigil, along with Assistant Professor Toym Leon Imao, Chair of the UP President’s Committee on Culture and the Arts, and Assistant Professor Lisa Ito-Tapang of the UP College of Fine Arts
“Napakaganda dahil, si Ishmael Bernal, ipinakilala niya kami sa audience. I think ‘yun ang kauna-unahang may public manifestation si Ishmael Bernal—at hindi regular ito sa buong industriya—na nakikiisa doon sa alternative filmmakers,” Deocampo said.
Director Joel Lamangan also shared memories of his friendship with Bernal which started when he played a priest in the 1982 classic, Himala, and how his fellow filmmaker’s death in 1996 felt like “parang nawalan ako ng magulang sa industriya.”
Historian Michael Charleston Chua, meanwhile, said Bernal now “[joins] the ranks of the heroes” of the country by being reinterred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani: “Hindi ang libingan ang dahilan kung bakit nagiging sagrado ang sementeryong iyon. Ang lupang iyon ay nagiging sagrado lamang dahil ang katawan mong ibinigay mo sa bayan at ang corpus—ang katawan ng iyong mga nilikha—ay karangal-rangal.”
Bernal, a UP alumnus, finished his BA English degree in 1959. Hailed as “the genius of Philippine cinema,” Bernal is recognized as one of the leading figures of Philippine cinema’s Second Golden Age for his celebrated works such as Manila by Night (1980) and Himala, which challenged the censorship during the martial law period with his striking commentary and depiction of the social realities and struggles of Filipinos.
The acclaimed filmmaker passed away at 57 on June 2, 1996 due to a heart attack and was previously buried at the Himlayang Pilipino in Quezon City. He was posthumously bestowed the title National Artist in 2001.
