With the unexpected death of the two most notable directors, Direk Wenn Deramas and Direk Francis Pasion, fellow filmmaker Direk Quark Henares expressed his side towards the probable cause of their passing.
Through a Facebook post on Sunday evening (March 6, 2016), Direk Quark remembered and shared how his friendship with Direk Francis blossomed, which started way back in college at the Ateneo De Manila University.
“He was my professor, he was my friend, he was the founder of my college org, he was my colleague. What Iremember most about Francis Xavier Pasion was how he would fervently post posters around the campus for The Loyola Film Circle’s first ever short film festival and I was this little chubby freshman following him around ripping the scotch tape in half. ‘Thanks Quark. Keep this up and one day baka magiging President ka ng Loyola Film Circle.’
I never did, but I always found that view of leadership to be funny. Rest in peace, Mr. Pasion.”
Also through the same post, Direk Quark addressed the “horrible working hours and conditions” all television directors, staff, and crew have to face on a daily basis. According to the director, the stress caused by such working environment may have been a factor in the deaths of Direk Wenn and Direk Francis.
“PS This might not be a good time to say this but i’ll say it anyway. I think the reason a lot of TV directors like Wenn Deramas and Gilbert Perez, and now Francis Pasion are getting cardiac arrests is because of the horrible working hours and conditions in Television. And it’s not just directors: stuntmen, ADs, crew people and cameramen all go through similar situations. This should really change. And I don’t know how it will, considering that this entails losses for the networks. But it really is time.”
Moreover, Direk Quark appealed to all television networks to consider change which will benefit not only the directors but the entire television production industry in the long run.
In the autopsy released early today, the cause of Pasion’s death is also a cardiac arrest like Direk Wenn’s case who passed away last Monday (February 29, 2016)
Direk Pasion’s latest project was the primetime hit On the Wings of Love (OTWOL).
The acclaimed director was found by his parents lifeless in the bathroom of his condominium unit in Quezon City. The official report on the cause of his death has not yet been released, but many suspect that he died of heart attack.
“He has been having chest pains which is why he went to Cardinal (Santos Medical Center) to undergo a medical exam…” said Cinemalaya producer Joji Alonso in a text message to Inquirer.net.
His 2008 film Jay won Best Film, Best Editing, and the Balanghai Trophy in the Cinemalaya Film Festival. It also received international acclaim in the Venice, Busan, and Berlin film festivals.
In 2014, his film Bwaya won Best Film in the New Breed Category of the 10th Cinemalaya Film Festival.
Pasion was a communications graduate of Ateneo de Manila Universtiy. He was the founder of Loyola FIlm Circle, an organization for film enthusiasts.
Source: Chisms