Lily Monteverde, pillar of PH film industry; 84

‘REGAL BABY’ Lily Monteverde in 2016 celebrates her 77th birthday at her home in Quezon City. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Lily Monteverde, founder of film-TV production outfit Regal Entertainment, passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 84.

Born on Aug. 19, 1939, she would have celebrated her 85th birthday this month.

Monteverde, known in the movie industry as “Mother Lily,” died barely a week after her husband, Leonardo “Remy” Monteverde passed away on July 29. He was 86.

She is survived by her children Winston, Meme, Roselle, Dondon and Goldwin.

In its statement, the family did not disclose the cause of death. But in 2013, Monteverde underwent surgery to remove a two-centimeter mass growth in one of her lungs. She was later declared cancer-free.

“We were never worried that we’d lose her to cancer,” Monteverde’s daughter Roselle Teo told Inquirer Entertainment in 2016 at a party celebrating the film producer’s 77th birthday.

“As soon as she found out, she had it treated, then went back to her usual routine. We never thought we’d lose her, because there was constant communication between us and her doctors,” Teo said.

Commercial, art films

Monteverde produced more than 300 films since she founded Regal Films in 1962. Now called Regal Entertainment, the company is considered the oldest surviving film and television production company in the country. It is now managed by daughter Roselle Monteverde-Teo.

Regal produced films encompassing all genres—drama, comedy, romance, fantasy, action, family-oriented as well as “bold” movies that were dubbed in the 1990s as “TF” (titillating films).

The studio honed some of the industry’s biggest stars, the so-called “Regal Babies” of the 1980s such as Maricel Soriano, Gabby Concepcion, Manilyn Reynes, Dina Bonnevie, Snooky Serna, Janice de Belen and Albert Martinez. Each of them have since evolved to become critically acclaimed actors.

Regal was behind famous movie franchises like “Mano Po” and “Shake, Rattle & Roll.” It also popularized the so-called “pito-pito” flicks, which were shot in only seven days.

Yet despite the relentless commercial productions on her watch, Monteverde also became involved in films noted for their social relevance which drew the ire of the government.

Ishmael Bernal’s 1980 masterpiece “Manila by Night,” which brilliantly depicted the city’s spreading squalor, reportedly angered then first lady Imelda Marcos. This prompted the change of the movie’s title in the course of its distribution to “City by Night.”

Another critical production was Mike de Leon’s “Sister Stella L,” starring Vilma Santos as an activist nun fighting for workers’ rights.

Before Monteverde’s death, she approved the film’s restoration by L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy.

She also gave international auteur Lav Diaz his first break as director. Diaz’s fourth and last work for Regal was the 2002 anti-fascist dystopian “pito-pito” film titled “Hesus Rebolusyonaryo.”

“I have always been a movie fan,” Monteverde once said in an interview.

Selling popcorn

Monteverde was a daughter of copra magnate Domingo Yu, but she never really benefited from her family’s affluence.

She was reportedly deprived of her inheritance after marrying half-Chinese Remy Monteverde, a popular basketball player under her father’s team who was not his choice for his daughter.

An article by the late columnist Ricky Lo recalled that she first worked for Remy’s father to save up for two popcorn machines, which she placed in two different movie theaters.

This earned her P100 a day, back in the early 1960s. The article also quoted Monteverde as saying that, compared to action movies, which attracted more male audiences, dramatic films drew in women moviegoers and popcorn sales increased.

With her savings and the money she borrowed from brother Jessy Yu, she bought the rights to the tearjerker movie “All Mine to Give” and released it locally. The film turned out to be a box-office hit.

Tributes

On her Instagram post, Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares expressed sadness over the passing of the Regal matriarch, who was one of her godparents when she married businessman Neil Llamanzares in 1991.

“My Ninang Mother always believed in me and assured me whenever I doubted myself. She has helped so many and she will never be forgotten. She was, and will always be, a titan in the Philippine movie industry,” the lawmaker said.

Dondon, who co-owns Reality MM Studios, had announced in 2022 that he and his siblings would produce their mother’s biopic with Judy Ann Santos and Vilma Santos as lead stars.

He revealed that pre-production work had been stalled because of the pandemic. “This project is important to us. Hopefully, we can get back to planning for it,” he said. “Mother Lily [had been] a big part not only of my life, but also of a lot of people in this industry. I was witness to how hard she pushed our industry to move forward.”

Monteverde was given the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2023 and the Marichu Vera-Perez Maceda Memorial award from the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival last December 2023.

“It’s a wonderful life, a beautiful life,” she said on her 80th birthday. “I will live it the same way all over again.”

The memorial service will be held at 38 Valencia Events Place in Quezon City where a wake will be held on Aug. 5 to Aug. 9. Interment will be on Aug. 10 at The Heritage Park in Taguig City. WITH REPORTS FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH, TOTEL V. DE JESUS INQ