Brillante Mendoza addresses ‘poverty porn’ tag on movies

It's too dark, dirty, gross, shocking, and difficult to watch—these words are no longer new to director Brillante Mendoza, who has been making "gritty" movies since 2005.

In an interview with Kara David on GMA News' News to Go on Thursday, Mendoza said that he is aware that his films might not please everyone, but said that this is the style that he is comfortable with.

"Bilang filmmaker, parang advocacy ko na rin ito. Mas interesado akong ipakita yung katotohanan na nangyayari," he said.

Mendoza said that he is more interested in discussing issues and showing the truth without pretensions.

"(Romantic comedies) make us feel good and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that ako, ito 'yung choice ko ng mga kwento," he added.

Mendoza began his career with "Masahista" (which also starred Jaclyn Jose who recently won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for Mendoza's film Ma' Rosa), but he quickly gained notoriety with movies that explore the underbelly of Manila like "Serbis" and "Kinatay."

He was hailed Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for the latter, but it wasn't enough to win everyone over. Most notably, famed film critic Roger Ebert said that "Kinatay" deserved no awards.

Despite the criticism, Mendoza has continued with his brand of storytelling and has consistently participated in more foreign film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival.

His latest work, "Ma' Rosa", was the only Filipino film in the main competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. —Aya Tantiangco/KG, GMA News