Tweets for Marilou Diaz-Abaya

MANILA, Philippines – Hours after news of Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s death on Monday, October 8, was reported, celebrities who’ve worked with the multi-awarded director and fans of her work continued to express their grief and sadness (and shock) on Twitter.

Abaya passed away at 6:45 pm at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig. She succumbed to cardio-pulmonary arrest after a long battle with breast cancer.

Among the celebrities who tweeted messages to Abaya and her family are:

Fans and friends also posted the following images:

Former President Gloria Arroyo also expressed sadness over her former student’s death:

According to a tweet by PEP.ph, Abaya’s remains lie in state at Arlington Funeral Homes in Araneta Avenue, Quezon City.

On the morning of October 9, Tuesday, her body will be transferred to the Ateneo de Manila University and will remain there until October 12, Friday.

As of press time, details of her burial have not been disclosed.

Abaya is hailed as the “most awarded director in the history of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences.” She received 4 FAMAS awards in all, for the movies Brutal (1980), Karnal (1983), Jose Rizal (1998) and Muro Ami (1999).

International organizations that gave Abaya recognition are the Laureate of the Fukuoka Prize for Culture and the Arts in Japan; the British Film Institute; the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI); and the Network of Pan Asian Cinema Award (NETPAC). 

In 2007, she established the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center. In her message in the mdafilm website, she said that the institute was established to “empower new filmmakers to meet the demands of new times.”

Abaya also taught film subjects at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Abaya was born on March 30, 1955 in Quezon City. She studied Liberal Arts major in Communication Arts at the Assumption College (1976) before taking up filmmaking at the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (1979) and the London Film School.

Her husband, Manolo Abaya, is a cinematographer and educator. They have two sons: Marc — frontman of rock band Kjwan and one of today’s most promising character actors — and David. – Rappler.com