Ishmael Bernal

(30 September 1938 – 2 June 1996) was a

Filipino film, stage and television director,
actor and screenwriter. Noted for his
melodramas, particularly with feminist and
moral issues.
He studied at Burgos Elementary School,
Mapa High School and at the University of the
Philippines where he finished his Bachelor of
Arts degree in English in 1959. After
graduation he worked with Lamberto
Avellana's documentary outfit before
proceeding to France where he earned his
Licentiate in French Literature and Philosophy
at the University of Aix-en-Provence. He
received his Diploma in Film Directing in 1970
at the Film Institute of India in Poona under
the Colombo plan scholarship. An active
participant in the struggle for artist's rights
and welfare, Bernal was also a board member
of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines and
the Directors Guild of the Philippines, Inc.
Until his demise, he remained part of DGPI, an
organization that studies the role of film as an
instrument of entertainment, education and
development.

As a film Director
 Bernal directed and wrote his first film, Pagdating Sa Dulo (At the Top), in
1971.
 Historical dramas like El Vibora (The Viper), and the Bonifacio episode in the
unreleased Lahing Pilipino (The Filipino Race);
 Experimental films like Nunal Sa Tubig (Speck In The Water) and Himala
(Miracle)

In Philippine Telivision
 Aside from film, Bernal also directed television shows like the long-time drama
series Ang Makulay Na Daigdig ni Nora (The Colorful World of Nora) for which
he was named Outstanding Director in a Drama Series by the Patas Awards in
1979

He was recognized as the Director of the Decade of the 1970s by the

Catholic Mass Media Awards; four-time Best Director by the Urian
Awards (1989, 1985, 1983, and 1977); and given the ASEAN Cultural
Award in Communication Arts in 1993. In 2001, he was declared as
National Artist of the Philippines in 2001.