Lamberto V. Avellana
Directing
Biography
Lamberto Vera Avellana NA February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991) was a prominent Filipino film and stage director. Despite considerable budgetary limitations that hampered the post-war Filipino film industry, Avellana's films such as Anak Dalita and Badjao attained international acclaim. In 1976, Avellana was named by President Ferdinand Marcos as the first National Artist of the Philippines for Film. While Avellana remains an important figure in Filipino cinema, his reputation as a film director has since been eclipsed by the next wave of Filipino film directors who emerged in the 1970s, such as Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal.
Known For
Hassan, the son of a tribe chief of the Badjaos, a pagan, sea-dwelling Filipino tribe, meets and falls for Bala Amai, the niece of the chief of the Tausugs, an Islamic, land-dwelling tribe. Although the Hassan is willing to give up his lifestyle for Bala Amai and vice versa, the Tausugs plot to break up the union of the happy couple.
Badjao
Cristina, a pretty young neighborhood girl, is pursued by the mysterious Satur, a wealthy but mysterious young man. Cristina, however, is engaged to Sendong, a young farmer. When Cristina's mother is taken suddenly ill and there appears to be no hope of recovery, Satur says that can cure her in exchange for Cristina being promised to him. Desperate, Cristina agrees and her mother pulls through. Cristina and Sendong soon find out that she may have well made a deal with the devil.
Satur
A story about Manuel a sickly musician who meets Shelly a beautiful store manager.
In Despair
A story about Celing and her kid brother Pidingare recently orphaned and they come to Manila to find work in the home of their late parents' hacienda landlord. But they are treated miserably by the landlord's ill-tempered wife, Doña Esperanza.
Pag-asa
The true story of George Tweed, an American sailor who became the only serviceman on the island of Guam to avoid capture by the Japanese during the early years of World War II.
No Man Is an Island
A war hero forced to participate in a smuggling ring meets a prostitute in the postwar ruins of Manila.
Child of Sorrow
Hassan (P. Ramlee) is 10 when his father died. His mother had died when he was younger. His late father's boss feels sorry for Hassan and adopts him. However, Hassan's foster father's own child, Aziz (Jins Shamsudin) is jealous of Hassan and hates him. When both of them have fully grown up, Aziz and Buang (Salleh Kamil) always bully Hassan. At the same time, Salmah (Saadiah) has developed a crush towards Hassan, fuelling Aziz's fury. When the Second World War is approaching, the Royal Malay Regiment begins recruiting young soldiers.
Sarjan Hassan
“Waywaya” is derived from “Waywaya” an Ilocano term meaning freedom. The film is adapted from the short story of the same title, an adventure-laden story of two Northern Luzon tribes. It stars Amy Austria and Ace Vergel.
Waywaya
A hotheaded man becomes a firefighter and is morally tested by other firefighters to join them in an illegal racket.
Ang Bombero
A story about Kulas whose land papers were stolen by the Spaniards and he went and got it back, but by doing so made him a wanted man so he left to live in the mountains and became a rebel captain and fought the Spaniards.
Kapitan Kulas
With interviews with National Artists Lamberto Avellana and Lino Brocka and myriad talents from the Mowelfund community such as Nick Deocampo and Raymond Red, Beyond Mainstream documents the robust energy of nascent independent filmmaking in the country in the 80s. Based on Nick Deocampo's first book Short Film: The Emergence of a New Philippine Cinema (1985), it features the first Independent Film and Video Festival held in the Wave Cinema in Cubao, Quezon City, the first video theater in the country.
Beyond the Mainstream: A Salute to Philippine Independent Cinema
A compilation of film clips featuring dance and song performances culled from various films of the so-called big three - Sampaguita, LVN, Premiere.
Happy Days Are Here Again
Korea is a 1952 Philippine war film about the Korean War directed by Lamberto V. Avellana. Produced by LVN Pictures, the film is considered to be lost. Benigno Aquino Jr. wrote the script who based it on his experiences in the war as a correspondent.
Korea
One of the first colored films to be produced in the Philippines.
Prinsipe Amante
A trilogy featuring Nora Aunor giving life to the stories of 3 women: Fe - an emerging movie Superstar who has an invalid husband, Esperanza - a young wife living in a middle class neighborhood in the city & Caridad - a young novice who was seduced by the devil himself.
Fe, Esperanza, Caridad
Interpol follows a fat man from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Manila as he takes care of business for an opium empire.
The Evil Within
The story of the life and death of Macario Sakay, the President of the Tagalog Republic and one of the last Filipino generals to surrender to the American forces during the American colonial period.
Sakay
Lamberto Avellana's adaptation of the Solomon and Sheba mythos.
Haring Solomon at Reyna Sheba
Lamberto Avellana’s English-language film based on Nick Joaquin’s play about a painter, a painting, two sisters, and a crook.
A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino
RUGGED in action, RAW in romance.