21 Facts About Marilou Diaz-Abaya

Marilou Correa Diaz-Abaya was a Filipina multi-award winning film director.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was posthumously conferred the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022, she was the founder and president of the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center, a film school based in Antipolo, Philippines.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was the director of the 1998 film Jose Rizal, a biographical film on the Philippines' national hero of the same name.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was part of the Second Golden Age of Philippine Cinema.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was one of seven children of lawyers Conrado Diaz and Felicitas Correa Diaz.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya's father is from Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and is related to Valentin Diaz, who was one of the founding signatories in 1892 of the nationalist association La Liga Filipina with Jose Rizal, whom her famous film was about.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya intended to enroll in Asian Civilizations studies but was not able to because the History Department was closed.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya studied in several private schools, eventually graduating from Assumption College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts, major in Communication Arts in 1976.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya went to Los Angeles for further studies and graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Master of Arts in Film and Television in 1978.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya then went to London and completed the Film Course at London International Film School in 1978.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya entered the Philippine cinema industry in 1980 as a director.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya admittedly uses her work as a tool to uphold, promote, and protect the state of democracy in the Philippines.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was the treasurer of the directors' union under Lino Brocka for several years.

In 1983, Marilou Diaz-Abaya joined the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, organized by Lino Brocka, and was an active member that opposed film censorship by the Marcos regime and joined in anti-government rallies.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya's body of work is a continuous examination of difficult social problems in the country.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya met Manolo when she was 15 years of age, and Manolo helped her turn to filmmaking.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya referred the city of Fukuoka in Japan as her second home because of her films became well-regarded and recognized by critics and moviegoers.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused her death on October 8,2012.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was buried at Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina until October 2023, when her remains were exhumed and then, transferred to the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya has won numerous directing awards from award-giving bodies such as the Metro Manila Film Festival, the Urian Awards, the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Famas Awards, the Star Awards, the Catholic Mass Media Awards the British Film Institute Award, the International Federation of Film Critics Award, and the Network of Pan Asian Cinema Award.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya was a director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the president of the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center and Dive Solana Inc.