Elwood ‘’El Maestro’’ Perez is one of the last few men standing, if not the last one, from among his batch of 1970s film directors.
Most everyone else has passed: Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Joey Gosiengfiao, Maryo de los Reyes, Peque Gallaga, Mel Chionglo, Danny Zialcita. Elwood, 76, who directed his first film, Blue Boy in 1970, continues to persist against all odds. After taking a 10-year hiatus, he returned to filmmaking by going digital in 2013 via the FDCP-produced film, Otso, followed by Esoterika: Maynila in 2014. In line with Philippine Film Industry Month throughout September, the Film Development Council of the Philippines celebrates Elwood Perez’s 50th anniversary as a director through a retrospective and a forthcoming book on his career as a filmmaker.
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The Elwood Perez Retrospective features free screenings of at least 12 films by the two-time Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Awards Best Director and three-time FAMAS Best Director.
The films are "Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit," "Ibulong Mo sa Diyos," "Nakawin Natin ang Bawat Sandali," "Masarap, Masakit ang Umibig," "Beerhouse," "Esoterika: Maynila," "Inday Garutay," "Otso," "Shame," "Stepsisters," "Till We Meet Again" and "Isang Gabi… Tatlong Babae!"
The films, a mere selection from his filmography of over 50 films, will be shown on the FDCP Channel from Sept. 25 to 30.
Aside from the screenings, the PFA website (philippinefilmarchive.fdcp.ph) will also host an online museum for the 76-year-old Perez, who received the Special Honorary Award at the 2013 Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival and Gawad Gintong Ani at the 2015 FACINE Filipino International Cine Festival.
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When Cinema One Originals Film Festival presented a Lifetime Achievement award to Elwood Perez in 2013, the ABS-CBN movie channel called the director a maverick among masters.
A maverick, says Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is one who is non-conformist, one who goes against the tide.
From the C-1 souvenir program, this quote: That he (Elwood) doesn’t get stuck on old modes, nor settles into comfort zones, and actually shows a grasp of how cinema has evolved, is admirable in and of itself, particularly in an industry where growing old usually means growing soft and losing your edge.’
Elwood is also the recipient of the following accolade: Film Icon Visionary from the New York SOHO International Film Festival 2016 when it screened Esoterika: Maynila.
In 2008, Cinema One called him A True Titan of Philippine Cinema during a retrospective of his best films.
At the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2015, he was billed as one of Southeast Asia’s leading cinematic provocateurs.
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Throughout his writing and directing career, Elwood has survived, as well as pioneered, trends and movements in Philippine movie-making.
A game changer, his genius is responsible for revolutionizing industry trends, such as tagging provocative titles to his films, tackling unconventional stories and themes, and assigning out-of-the-box roles for actors. Bold drama, as he called it, was to be the pervading---perversive-- trend in Philippine movies in the 70s and 80s. Elwood was behind some of local cinema’s gems: Isang Gabi, Tatlong Babae; Bawal: Asawa Mo, Asawa Ko; Divorce: Filipino Style, Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit, Ang Totoong Buhay ni Pacita M., etc. Many of these also became big box office hits, creating for Elwood a strong presence in the industry through a gallery of films remembered for blending both artistic and commercial merits.