Documentary celebrates Abaya’s artistic generosity

ABAYA. A day spent with her is a dazzling celebration of words, ideas and feelings.

Anyone who has spent even a few hours in the company of Marilou Diaz-Abaya will tell you that she has a great deal to give – and loves the act of giving.

This generosity of spirit, even more than her formidable talent, shines through the brightest in the documentary, “The Accidental Filmmaker: A Tribute to Marilou Diaz-Abaya.”

Mona Lisa Yuchengco’s film not only delves into Diaz-Abaya’s long career as a director, but also speaks frankly about her ongoing battle with cancer.

It is what it says it is – a tribute – and one that is often deeply moving. It is through interviews with the various people she has worked with and mentored, including the students at her film institute, that the film draws its portrait of her as a director and as a person.

The docu chronicles her landmark films and TV shows. What’s more, Diaz-Abaya pays her own tribute to her mentors and loved ones, including National Artists Lino Brocka, Rolando Tinio, and Ishmael Bernal, whom she called her soulmate. They are brought back to life vividly through her own words, and their premature passing is mourned once more.

The documentary also explores her love for diving, which seems to be as strong as her passion for filmmaking. It is an experience that she has described through a Zen saying, “The joy of a raindrop is to enter the ocean,” which is now also how she views death itself – as a return to the source, a remerging with an infinite whole. The themes of her own life echo as well in her latest film, “Ikaw ang Pag-ibig.”