Brillante Mendoza Explained

Brillante Mendoza^[1] (pronounced as /tl/; born July 30, 1960),^[2] also known as Dante Mendoza, is a Filipino independent filmmaker.^[3] Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Philippine New Wave.^[4]

Career

Mendoza was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. He took advertising arts of the College of Architecture and fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas.^[5]

Mendoza has directed sixteen films since 2005, also he credited some cinematographer and production designer under his alias. His first collaborated with actor Coco Martin in seven films: Masahista, Kaleldo, Foster Child, Tirador, Serbis, Kinatay, and Captive.

Mendoza directed the first and second State of the Nation Addresses of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 and 2017, respectively.^{[6] [7]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Original title	Credited as				Notes
			Director	Producer	Screenwriter	Production designer
1985	Virgin Forest<		-- Jan 22 -->
1986	Takaw Tukso<		-- Mar 20 -->
	Private Show<		-- Apr 18 -->
	Di Maghilom ang Sugat<		-- Aug 7 -->
	Materyales Fuertes<		-- Sep 11 -->
	Magic of the Universe	Salamangkero					With Arthur Nicdao
1987	Mga Lihim ng Kalapati<		-- Aug 1 -->
1989	Si Baleleng at ang Gintong Sirena<		-- Jan 4 -->
	Gabriela<		-- Feb 15 -->
	Valentina<		-- Apr 12 -->
	Target... Police General (Maj. Gen. Alfredo S. Lim Story)<		-- Nov 29 -->
1990	"Ako ang Batas" -Gen. Tomas Karingal<		-- Mar 1 -->
	Mula Paa Hanggang Ulo<		-- May 24 -->
	Kristobal: Tinik sa Corona<		-- Jul 22 -->
	Iisa-isahin Ko Kayo
2005	The Masseur	Masahista
2006	Summer Heat	Kaleldo
	The Teacher	Manoro					Also as cinematographer
2007	Fantasy	Pantasya					Also cinematographer
	Foster Child
	Slingshot	Tirador					Also as cinematographer
2008	Service	Serbis
2009	Butchered (The Execution of P)	Kinatay
	Grandmother	Lola
2012	Captive
	Thy Womb	Sinapupunan
2013	Sapi	Sapi					Also as cinematographer
2015	Trap	Taklub
2016	Ma' Rosa	Ma' Rosa
	Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections	Asia sanmenkyô					Segment: "Shinauma"
2018	Alpha: The Right to Kill
	Journey	Lakbayan					Segment: "Desfocado" Co-director with Lav Diaz and Kidlat Tahimik
	Amo (TV mini-series)
2019	Mindanao	Mindanao
	Verdict						Also creative consultant
2021	Gensan Punch
2022	Resbak
	Apag
2024	Pula	Pola					Premiered on Netflix
	Motherland

Awards and nominations

Mendoza is the first Filipino filmmaker to receive the Best Director award for his film Kinatay at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.^[8] His 2009 film Lola won the award for Best Film at the 6th Dubai International Film Festival.^[9]

Mendoza's 2012 film Captive was shown in competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.^[10] His 2012 film Thy Womb competed for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival^[11] and earned Mendoza the award for Achievement in Directing at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2012.^[12]

Mendoza's film Taklub was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.^[13]

Mendoza is one of the few people and is the only Filipino filmmaker to be nominated in all three major prizes from "The Big Three" (Cannes, Berlin, Venice).^[14]

Year	Film	Film festival	Category	Result
1987	Salamangkero	3rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Best Production Design		[15]
	Private Show	5th Film Academy of the Philippines Awards	Best Production Design		[16] [17]
	Takaw Tukso	11th Gawad Urian Awards	Best Production Design		[18]
	Private Show				[19]
2008	Service				[20]
2009	Kinatay		Palme d'Or		[21]
2009	Grandmother				[22]
2012	Captive				[23]
2012	Thy Womb		Golden Lion		[24]
2016	Ma' Rosa		Palme d'Or		[25]
2021	Gensan Punch		Kim Jiseok Award		[26]

Notes and References

1. News: Dante Mendoza in 'Bottomline with Boy Abunda'. May 29, 2017. ABS-CBN News. June 25, 2010.
2. Web site: Brillante Mendoza - About .
3. Web site: Brilliante Mendoza: Philippines' celebrated and divisive director . May 9, 2009 . CNN.
4. Web site: Filipino New Wave - Movie list . September 23, 2022 . MUBI . en.
5. Web site: Pagdukot sa mga Burnham, isinapelikula . October 20, 2012 . varsitarian.
6. News: July 15, 2016. LOOK: Brillante Mendoza confirmed to direct Duterte's SONA. Rappler. July 15, 2016.
7. Web site: July 24, 2017. Brillante Mendoza draws cheers, jeers in Duterte's 2nd SONA. live. March 14, 2021. ABS-CBN News. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20170724182522/http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/07/24/17/brillante-mendoza-draws-cheers-jeers-in-dutertes-2nd-sona . July 24, 2017 .
8. Web site: Festival de Cannes: Kinatay . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090704143350/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10901054/year/2009.html . July 4, 2009 . May 9, 2009 . festival-cannes.com.
9. Web site: Dubai International Film Festival – 2009 Winners . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111222023955/http://www.dubaifilmfest.com/index.php/en/past-edition/year-2009/winners/ . December 22, 2011 . July 24, 2011 . dubaifilmfest.com.
10. Web site: First Films for the Competition and Berlinale Special . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120106003836/http://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/alle/Alle-Detail_11860.html . January 6, 2012 . December 20, 2011 . Berlin Film Festival.
11. Web site: Venezia 69 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728223053/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/lineup/off-sel/venezia69 . July 28, 2012 . July 26, 2012 . labiennale.
12. Web site: APSA Nominees & Winners . August 30, 2019 . Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
13. Web site: April 23, 2015 . Complement to the Official Selection . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150505040811/http://www.festival-cannes.com/fr/article/61323.html . May 5, 2015 . April 23, 2015 . Cannes Film Festival.
14. Web site: Brillante Mendoza Film Awards – Carlo Valenzona . August 26, 2022 . carlovalenzona.com.
15. News: Jacklyn Jose, Joel Torre lead PMPC 3rd Star Awards winners. March 21, 2024. Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc.. March 19, 1987. 14.
16. News: Viva Films dominates FAP nominees. March 21, 2024. Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc.. March 23, 1987. 14.
17. News: Dormiendo. Justino. Daybreak for 'Takaw Tukso', Nightfall for 'Gabi na, Kumander'. March 21, 2024. Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc.. April 14, 1987. 15. [...] Benjie de Guzman's incoherent production design triumphing over Dante Mendoza's atmospheric work in Private Show (which I gather was eventually disqualified due to FAP's internal quibbling over tenure)[...].
18. News: Paul. Evelyn. Jacklyn Jose, 'Tukso' get critics' nod. March 21, 2024. Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc.. May 8, 1987. 6.
19. News: 'Bagong Hari' tops 11th Urian nominees. March 21, 2024. Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc.. April 21, 1987. 13.
20. Web site: In Competition: "Serbis" by Brillante Mendoza - Festival de Cannes.
21. Web site: Best Director: Brillante Mendoza for 'Kinatay'. May 24, 2009. Festival de Cannes 2021.
22. Web site: Mendoza's Lola revealed as second surprise film in Venice. Sheri. Jennings2009-09-10T16:14:00+01:00. Screen.
23. Web site: Brillante Mendoza's 'Captive', other contenders at Berlin film festival. Agence France-Presse. February 18, 2012. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
24. Web site: Venice 2012: Searching For The Golden Lion In The Festival's First Half. Neil. Young. September 3, 2012.
25. Web site: MA' ROSA - Festival de Cannes.
26. News: 'Apartment' and 'Hometown' Share Busan Festival's New Currents Award . Patrick Frater . Variety . October 15, 2021 . October 15, 2021 . en.