Born in
Manila on 30 September 1938, Bernal was the son of Elena Bernal and Pacifico
Ledesma. He studied at Burgos Elementary School, Mapa High School and at the
University of the Philippines where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in
English in 1959. After graduation he worked with Lamberto Avellana's
documentary outfit before proceeding to France where he earned his Licentiate
in French Literature and Philosophy at the University of Aix-en-Provence. He
received his Diploma in Film Directing in 1970 at the Film Insititue of India
in Poona under the Colombo plan scholarship. An active participant in the
struggle for artist's rights and welfare, Bernal was also a board member of the
Concerned Artists of the Philippines and the Directors Guild of the
Philippines, Inc. Until his demise, he remained part of DGPI, an organization
that studies the role of film as an instrument of entertainment, education and
development.
Bernal directed and wrote his first
film, Pagdating sa Dulo (At the Top), in 1971. In this film we catch a glimpse
into what Ishmael Bernal's ouvre would prefigure for the industry: it is a
scene showing an aspiring actress (played by Rita Gomez) pondering on dreams
blooming in deserts of desolation and dying out in a mirage that painfully
conjures images of squatter colonies and sordid lives. The bold star stares out
into the landscape and scans it, with the camera acting as her surrogate, but
finally framing her against the embarrassingly majestic Cultural Center of the
Philippines. The scene captures it all: the decadence of the Martial Law
regime, along with its perverse aspirations to art, has doomed the destinies of
Filipinos. From that time on, Bernal was established as an innovative and
intelligent filmmaker who would not be content with conventional formulas of
local film making. Under his name is a broad range of film genres and themes:
historical dramas like El Vibora (The Viper), and the Bonifacio episode in the
unreleased Lahing Pilipino (The Filipino Race); sophisticated comedies like
Tisoy (Mestizo), Pabling (Playboy), Working Girls I and Working Girls II;
experimental films like Nunal sa Tubig (Speck in the Water) and Himala
(Miracle); and contemporary dramas exploring human psyches and social
relationships, such as Ligaw Na Bulaklak (Wildflower), Mister Mo, Lover Boy Ko
(Your Husband, My Lover), Ikaw Ay Akin (You Are Mine), Relasyon (The Affair),
Aliw (Pleasure) and the film classic Manila by Night (or City After Dark). His
sturdy filmography is mainly clustered around the themes and problems that
inevitably encrust the "social" as the core of personal malaise.
Bernal
considered himself a feminist director and admitted that it was part of his
interest to tackle issues affecting women. A significant part of his work is
stories about and for women. For example, Relasyon, Hinugot sa Langit (1985),
and Working Girls. Before Bernal died in Quezon City on 2 June 1996, he was
scheduled to direct a film about the life story of Lola Rosa Henson, the
comfort woman during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
Himala
Produced by : Bibsy N.
Carballo, Charo Santos-Concio
Screenplay by : Ricardo Lee
Music by : Winston Raval
Cinematography : Sergio Lobo
Edited by : Ike Jarlego, Jr.
Production company : Experimental
Cinema of the Philippines
LVN Pictures
Distributed by : Experimental
Cinema of the Philippines
Columbia Pictures
Release date : December 25,
1982
Running time : 124 minutes
Country : Philippines
Language : Filipino
To be continued...
