Director Brillante Mendoza sees French knighthood as ‘a task’

Director Brillante Mendoza admitted on Thursday evening that the French government’s conferment on him of the title “Chevalier” (Knight) in the French “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” (Order of Arts and Letters) is “quite a task.” 

 

In receiving the title “Chevalier” in the French Order of Arts and Letters, Mendoza, 53, the only Filipino to win the best director award in the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival, joins the cinema and arts luminaries such as Clint Eastwood, Bob Dylan, Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kylie Minogue in the roster of the order.

 

In his acceptance speech after receiving the decoration at the residence of French Ambassador Gilles Garachon, Mendoza said: “It is quite a task when one is recognized for an achievement. It becomes a responsibility to carry on and pursue the expectations attached to the recognition.”

“As a filmmaker from a developing country, my works were merely aimed to mirror social realities and make the audience reflect on them. Hopefully, to create change,” Mendoza said.

 

“Many times I have been asked how much do I value the trophies and plaques I have received for my films. I simply answered that the value is not on the physical object that the recognition is represented, but rather on the meaning of the recognition,” he added.

 

The director, who sometimes appeared to be nervous while delivering his acceptance speech before a select crowd, hammered on the importance of humility, hard work, and persistence.

 

“Humility is a time honored value which my parents inculcated in me. It is one thing that I think must prevail in every blessing or victorious moment that we encounter,” he said. “In fact, it is an ultimate act of acknowledging the giver and the gift. Just as we take a bow during an applause.”

 

He said the recognition he received in Cannes for winning the Best Director award in 2009 “inspires me with the responsibility to pursue my advocacy and continue the task of filming the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations.”

 

“Film as we may all know must not only entertain. The filmmaker’s task is to document the signs of the times, to be a catalyst of change,” he said.

 

Advice to filmmakers

 

In a brief interview after receiving the decoration, Mendoza said young filmmakers must continue to work hard and be persistent in their craft of making film, despite the challenges.

 

Ambassador Garachon, who was joined by his wife Isabelle and their children who are fans of Mendoza, said, “As an ambassador, I must say that I am very humbled in front of Brillante because I think, in front of me, I have one of the best ambassadors abroad of the Philippines.” This declaration was met with a loud applause.

 

Garachon said the “relationship between Brillante and France is a longtime relationship.” He said for the French people, the cinema from the Philippines is “the cinema from Brillante.”

 

“Brillante, in fact, honors Filipino cinema because he introduces to French people the other directors, other actors and actresses from the Philippines. In fact, he is making known to the French people creation in the field of cinema from the Philippines,” the ambassador said.

 

Created in 1957, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is one of France’s highest awards established to recognize men and women, both French citizens and foreigners, for their significant achievements in the field of arts or literature or for their contribution to the promotion of French arts and literature in the world.

 

The Order has three grades: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), and Commandeur (Commander) as the highest honor.

 

Notable Filipino recipients include:

 

—KG, GMA News