Activist director Behn Cervantes, 74, dies

He fought dictatorship in the streets, on stage, and on the big screen.

Among the most visible and vociferous opponents of the Marcos regime, director and activist Behn Cervantes, 74, died Thursday morning due to complications from pneumonia.

Messages filled his Facebook wall even as his family declined to release an official statement.

Sources close to the family confirmed his death to GMA News Online, but requested for privacy in keeping with the dying wishes of the film director.

"Sobrang mamimiss ka namin Behn Cervantes, tatay namin sa UP Repertory Company. Ang komitment mo sa sining at sambayanan ay walang katulad. Sa iyo namin natutuhan na hindi ang aktor ni ang direktor kundi ang Manonood (ang Sambayanan) ang pinakamahalagang salik ng dulaan," University of the Philippines professor Joey Baquiran posted on Facebook.

In 1974, Cervantes established the UP Repertory Company "to combat the censorship that was in place during Martial Law," as he wrote in UP Forum.

"Pagpupugay sa isang tunay na artista ng bayan! RIP Sir Behn Cervantes. #SalamatBehn," Marvin Salazar said on Twitter.

Cervantes' work in theater included performances in Broadway musicals such as "Guys and Dolls" as well as activist plays "Pagsambang Bayan" and "Estados Unidos versus Juan Matapang Cruz," Tariman wrote.

Cervantes was a political detainee during Martial Law. His 1976 film "Sakada" was a thinly-veiled criticism of the country's feudal power structure. In his own words, it was “about seasonal workers who don’t have a good life, and [their] hacienderos ... excessively rich Filipinos who enjoy life without deserving the enjoyment of life.”

After only three weeks in cinemas, Marcos ordered the film pulled out.

Although the film led to Cervantes' arrest, he said he had no regrets.

“The artists were able to express themselves because Martial Law was in place. You had something to speak against and the enemies were so real, like Marcos, Imelda, and their family,” he said in Howie Severino’s I-Witness documentary, “Ganito Kami Noong Martial Law.”

In 1981, Sakada won a Dekada Award for Best Film of the Decade.

Cervantes also obtained a Life Achievement Award from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association, and an Aliw award for Life Achievement in Theater. — Carmela G. Lapeña/BM/YA/HS, GMA News