Movie director Gil Portes, 71
ACCLAIMED Filipino film director Gil M. Portes died on Wednesday night. He was 71.
News of his death circulated on social media, with director Adolfo B. Alix, Jr. one of the earliest ones to break the news.
“Rest in peace, direk Gil Portes. He opened the doors for me through Mga Munting Tinig in 2002. Thank you direk. You are always part of my success as a filmmaker. My prayer and condolences to his family,” Mr. Alix said in a Facebook post.
A text from Mr. Portes’s niece, Ming Tiñana, sent to ABS-CBN’s Mario Dumawal confirmed the news.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Direk Gil Merluza Portes yesterday, May 24. As we thank your prayers and expression[ s] of sympathy, we also request for privacy for our family in this time of grief. We will announce funeral arrangements as soon as possible,” Ms. Tiñana said as posted by Mr. Dumawal on his Twitter account.
Director Jose Javier Reyes in tweet said: “Rest well Direk Gil Portes. Thank you for the years shared. Have a safe trip back home to the Father.”
The cause of his death was not mentioned. One of Mr. Portes’s most famous films,
Mga Munting Tinig ( Small Voices, 2002), was nominated and won multiple awards including the Gawad Urian. It was the country’s entry to the annual Oscar Awards in the Foreign Language category.
In an Instagram post, actress Alessandra de Rossi, who played the lead in Munting
Tinig, posted the image of the film’s poster with the caption, “Salamat” (thank you).
Two of his other works, Saranggola (1999) and Gatas sa Dibdib ng Kaaway (2001), were also the country’s entries to the Oscars.
Saranggola won various awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
He also directed Markova: Comfort Gay in 2001 which starred Rodolfo “Dolphy” Vera Quizon in the story of the last surviving comfort gay (male sex slaves during the Japanese occupation), Walter “Markova” Dempster, Jr.
His last film was Moonlight Over Baler in 2017 starring Elizabeth Oropesa, Vin Abrenica, and Ellen Adarna in a story about a middle-aged woman helping a young man who resembles her long lost love, win the heart of the town beauty.
Portes received a bachelors degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas, and went on to receive a master’s degree in theater from Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York. He directed his first film, Tiket Mama, Tiket Ale, in 1976. According to a listing in Wikipedia, he directed 41 films in his career.