Born on July 30, 1960 in San Fernando, Philippines. Brillante Ma. Mendoza started as a production designer in various films and television advertisements. His debut film, Masahista (The Masseur) won the Golden Leopard Award at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival, and paved the way for the rise of alternative cinema in the Philippines. In 2005, he founded Center Stage Productions (CSP), an independent film production company. Mendoza continues to make films and documentaries that depict the lives of the Filipinos and the marginalized sectors of society, cultivating an audience for alternative cinema in the Philippines. His films are shown in different schools all over the country. One of which is Manoro (The Teacher), a film now part of the Philippine Department of Education’s teaching modules. Brillante Mendoza is the first Filipino director to be honored by France with the title Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres. His films Kanatay (2009) and Taklub (2015) have won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, and Thy Womb saw him win Achievement in Direction at the 2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
