MANILA, Philippines—Warrior woman is now a “goddess,” too. Armida Siguion-Reyna is the recipient of this year’s Diwata Award, to be given by the University of the Philippines Film Institute during the 20th International Women’s Film Festival (IWFF) on March 16.
Festival theme this year is “Purple Pixels: Women in the Indie Film Frontier,” celebrating the new breed of women independent filmmakers “who explore innovative forms of expression, discourse, and liberation in the digital film medium.”
Activities scheduled at the institute, located in UP Diliman, Quezon City, include screenings of independent films by women and the Diwata Award ceremony. The 2nd Women’s Film Congress will also be held during the festival. Women indie filmmakers will share insights and viewpoints on the imaging of women in cinema.
Armi Santiago, IWFF co-chair, told Inquirer , “Armida Siguion-Reyna is a warrior in a lot of ways. She has contributed immensely to the movie industry in her capacities as actor, producer and former chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.”
As an actor, Siguion-Reyna played heroine and villainess “with equal intensity and humanity,” Santiago noted. In 1973, Siguion-Reyna portrayed revolutionary heroine Gabriela Silang in “Dung-aw (Lamentation),” directed by Lino Brocka.
Siguion-Reyna has lent IWFF a copy of “Dung-aw” for screening during the fest, 6 p.m., at the institute’s Cine Adarna.
“Armida was ahead of her time. [In ‘Dung-aw’] she plays a female warrior who led an army of men. It’ll be a rare opportunity to catch this film,” Santiago said.
Empowering women
Aside from reading up on Philippine history, Siguion-Reyna told the Inquirer in a previous interview that she also had to master horseback-riding while shooting “Dung-aw.”
She fell off the horse nine times. “Once, I missed a barbed wire by an inch. Everyone on the set panicked,” recounted the actress, who also produced a period musical version of the film.
For the movie, Siguion-Reyna commissioned Restie Umali to compose original music.
As boss of Reyna Films, Siguion-Reyna championed movies that presented empowering images of women in cinema, Santiago pointed out.
“The films she produced had characters like a prostitute (“Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin”) and a victim of incest (“Inagaw Mo ang Lahat sa Akin”), but they were portrayed as [strong] human beings. As producer, her vision was gender-sensitive,” said Santiago.
As MTRCB chief, Siguion-Reyna also embodied strength and daring, Santiago added. “She’s a feisty advocate for freedom of expression. She fought against censorship and has high respect for artists.”
Previous Diwata awardees are producers Charo Santos and Lily Monteverde, actors Vilma Santos, Bella Flores and Gina Pareño, scriptwriter Lualhati Bautista, and filmmakers Lupita Aquino, Laurice Guillen, Marilou Diaz-Abaya and Olivia Lamasan.
Apart from “Dung-aw,” films from Lebanon and the Czech Republic will be screened at the IWFF. Call 920-6863 or 926-3640 for details, or e-mail armisan2004@yahoo.com.