PH ‘Mother,’ ‘Doña’ make it to gallery of Asian cinema greats

By Bayani San Diego Jr. Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, Philippines—A “Doña” and a “Mother” from the Philippines have landed in a milestone book on Asian cinema, joining a gallery of the most glamorous and accomplished female artists and entrepreneurs in show biz. LVN Pictures’ Narcisa B. de Leon (aka Doña Sisang) and Regal Films’ Lily Monteverde (aka Mother Lily), both producers, headed film companies during the two golden ages of Philippine movies in the 1950s and 1970s. They are included in the 2010 coffee table book “Asian Women in Film,” joining 26 other screen luminaries like Chinese actresses Gong Li, Nancy Kwan and Maggie Cheung, Indian actress Aishwarya Ray, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, Indian film critic Aruna Vasudev and Japanese director Kinuyo Tanaka. Also in the book are Malaysian director Yasmin Ahmad, Indian choreographer Farah Khan, Japanese costume designer Emi Wada and Indonesian producer Mira Lesmana, among others. There are only two Filipinos in the book, a legacy project of Cathay Organization, one of Singapore’s foremost entertainment and leisure groups. It was published last year on the occasion of the company’s 75th anniversary. In the introduction, Cathay Organization executive director Choo Meileen said the book was envisioned as “a special memento” to pay tribute to her grandmother, Loke Cheng Kim, who founded the business empire in 1935. “It would be a great pity if the efforts and achievements of these women, including my grandmother, were lost,” she wrote in the intro. She lauded these “great” women for their impact on the film industry and their respective communities. Enduring classics Monteverde told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that she was “honored” by her inclusion in the book—especially since she looked up to Doña Sisang. “As a kid, I was a fan of LVN movies,” she said. “At 14, I had a scrapbook of newspaper clippings on LVN star Nestor de Villa. When he got married, I burned the scrapbook! I wanted him to marry me, instead.” Mother Lily has produced over 1,000 movies and, like Doña Sisang, helped the country’s leading directors to create enduring Filipino classics. Apart from commercial hits, Monteverde also produced cinematic gems like Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila By Night,” Mike de Leon’s “Sister Stella L,” Peque Gallaga’s “Scorpio Nights,” and Elwood Perez’s “Bilangin Mo ang Bituin sa Langit” in the 1980s. Her first film as producer was “Magsikap: Kayod sa Umaga, Kayod sa Gabi,” released in 1974. Although she has passed the company’s management to daughter Roselle Monteverde-Teo, she remains gung-ho about the movies. Defiant one Mother Lily has often been described by filmmakers as “tough, results-oriented.” Perez called her an “authentic, a creative genius—a caring friend and an astute businesswoman.” Monteverde defied her conservative Chinese-Filipino upbringing. “I’ve always been independent. I started cutting classes at age 10 to watch movies.” Even though her family, including a sister who was an Assumption nun (Sister Regina), disapproved of show biz, she persevered. Her passion Mother Lily jestingly recalled that her father almost disowned her when she married basketball player Remy Monteverde, and Sister Regina stopped talking to her when she produced “bold” movies in the 1970s and 1980s. “Making movies is my passion. It’s my life,” she said in the book’s essay (written by Singapore-based Filipino journalist-educator Victor Valbuena). In an interview, Monteverde said she was impressed by the book’s Singapore-based crew. “They flew to Manila to interview me and take my portrait. They said that I worked quickly.” Similar philosophies Taking after Doña Sisang’s example, Monteverde said she ran her studio like a household. “Directors and actors have their moods. I have to be a mom to them—stern when I have to, but nurturing as well.” As a result, drumbeaters christened this Tiger Lily as the local industry’s Mother Lily. Doña Sisang had the same philosophy in managing LVN Pictures, her granddaughters Nenita Eraña and Ching Escaler told the Inquirer. Valbuena also sat down with Eraña and Escaler for the landmark book. Eraña and Escaler said they told Valbuena that their grandmother was strict. “She got involved even in the private lives of the stars because she wanted them to remain wholesome,” Eraña said. One of Big 4 Former LVN star Delia Razon agreed, saying that Doña Sisang was a disciplinarian. “She took care of everything. She even helped me build my house.” “My lola (grandmother) was very hands-on in the studio,” Escaler said. “While she read scripts at her desk, I would do my homework beside her.” Apart from popular movies, De Leon also produced some of the more important films in the first golden age of Philippine cinema—including National Artist Lamberto Avellana’s “Badjao” and “Anak Dalita” and Manuel Silos’ “Biyaya ng Lupa” in the 1950s. Under her leadership, LVN grew into one of the local industry’s Big 4 studios—along with Sampaguita, Lebran and Premiere. Doña Sisang’s first film as producer was “Giliw Ko,” released in 1939. “She was an amazing woman. She only finished fourth grade but she mastered different businesses because she was inquisitive,” said Escaler, a former United Nations ambassador. Young ‘censors’ Movie-making was a family activity, Eraña said. “We used to joke that we, her apos (grandchildren), were the original MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.)” Eraña explained that Doña Sisang’s grandchildren acted as a focus group committee, previewing films before their release. “Our lola would ask for our comments and she’d instruct the director to make the necessary corrections.” But like any lola, Doña Sisang was also doting to her grandkids, Escaler said. “We were close. Every Sunday, we would hear Mass and have breakfast with her in her house,” Eraña said. Preserving legacy Eraña and Escaler said they enjoyed reminiscing with Valbuena for the book. They consider themselves lucky that they were able to get to know their lola before she died at age 88 in 1966. “I was in my teens then. It’s sad that the present generation don’t know my lola and her contributions to Philippine cinema,” Eraña said. For this reason, the family has donated LVN movie stills, scripts and other important documents to the Lopez Museum. They also handed over surviving prints of LVN movies to the ABS-CBN archives. “Only a hundred of the 500 LVN movies have survived,” Escaler said. “We want the public, especially film scholars, to have access to the LVN collection. I plan to donate copies of the book to the UP and Ateneo libraries.” The coffee table book features vintage photos from the LVN archives. Other greats When they received copies of the book last Christmas, Eraña and Escaler were pleasantly surprised. They called the book “a beautiful Christmas gift to our family.” “I am thankful to Mr. Valbuena and the rest of the Cathay team for remembering and honoring our grandmother,” Escaler said. Eraña presented another copy of the book to her 93-year-old mother Amada de Leon-Eraña, daughter of Doña Sisang. “I will read the article with her,” she said. “We’re proud of our lola. Unfortunately, the family no longer owns LVN.” But through books like this, her grandmother’s memory will be kept alive for posterity, Escaler said. Cathay Organization’s Choo pointed out that the publishers considered several other “great” Asian women, including the Philippines’ Charo Santos-Concio (president of ABS-CBN), China’s Zhang Ziyi, Hong Kong’s Anita Mui, Iran’s Shoreh Aghdashloo and Japan’s Rinko Kikuchi, for their “contributions to the world of film and for paving the way for many generations of Asian women to come.” When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer