Legarda Congratulates Direk Brillante for French Honor

Senator Loren Legarda today congratulated Director Brillante Mendoza for being conferred the title Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Artes et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French
Ministry of Culture.

“I am proud of Direk Brillante’s continuing success. He has been bringing honor to our country with his internationally-acclaimed films that raise people’s awareness on the realities in our society,” said Legarda.

“He is an artist who uses his talent not only for his individual growth and success but also for the benefit of other people as he uses filmmaking to support worthwhile causes. He directed the two most recent documentaries on climate change that I produced—Buhos and Ligtas. Direk Brillante is truly deserving of this honor given to him by the French government and I hope more Filipinos would also appreciate him and his works of art,” she added.

Acknowledging Mendoza’s expertise in his field, Legarda chose him to direct “Buhos”, a documentary that explains the science of climate change and its impact on everyday lives, and the soon-to-be launched “Ligtas”, an instructional video on disaster preparedness.

Legarda also supported Mendoza in promoting his films including the most recent “Thy Womb”, which already earned numerous awards, both local and international. Last March, the Senator sponsored a special screening of the film that was attended by government officials, diplomats, members of the academe, and student leaders.