Mother Lily nakagawa na ng 1,000 pelikula; Magic Kamison ng Regal Films maraming pinasikat

NAPAKAGANDA ng aura ni Mother Lily Monteverde nang dumating sa Film Development Council of the Philippines noong Biyernes para personal na tanggapin ang Ina ng Pelikulang Pilipino award mula kay Chairperson Liza Dino.

Isinabay na rin ito sa pagdiriwang ng Mother’s Day kahapon kung saan nakasama rin ni Mother Lily ang kanyang buong pamilya.

Ayon kay Liza, ibinigay nila ang award kay Mother Lily dahil sa malasakit nito sa movie industry.

“Lahat po tayo rito sa industriya mayroon tayong kuwento, we were touched in some points in our lives on what Mother Lily has done for us mula sa mga pelikulang nagawa niya, mula sa mga artistang hinubog niya kung saan man sila nakarating ngayon.

“Ang Regal babies po natin na Regal mommies at daddies na ngayon, Aiza (Seguerra) would tell me a lot of stories about Mother Lily and how she helped Aiza, of course specially noong bata pa siya with the movies that she has done. Actually, ‘yung bahay po ni Aiza galing po kay Mother Lily noong kabataan po niya.

“Thank you so much for your contribution in this industry. Thank you so much po dahil hanggang ngayon hindi ka po natitinag, maraming salamat po sa sigasig ninyo for not giving up on Philippine Cinema,” ani Liza.

Sabi ni Mother Lily ay mahigit isang libong pelikula na ang naprodyus niya at marami na rin siyang napasikat na artista ngunit hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin siya tumitigil sa pagtuklas ng mga bagong artista.

Aniya, “There is no greater acclaim that to be honored as a mother, yes, in my so many years in this life, I take pride in saying that my greatest achievement is being a Mother.

“I am a mother not only to the beautiful children that I have given life and raised, but I am a mother to so many peope, and I am so blessed by being given such a chance not only to my immediate family but to the Filipino movie industry.

“Even after almost five and a half decades, I still take pride in being called Mother Lily, those who know me will insist that Lily Yu Monteverde is just a diehard fan who loved movies so much that she decided to make her own films.

“Like in the studios of the glory days of Filipino movies in the past, Regal Films was born out of love, a love for movies. Yes, moviemaking is also a business a very expensive and high risk business. But if the producer has no love for movies, then it is so easy to quit.

“But if you take making movies as an act of love like a parent bearing children like a father or mother guiding children in the form of directors, writers, actors, and actresses then it is no longer just a business, it is building a family. And I take pride that almost half century, Regal Films now called Regal Entertainment has remained and will always be a family,” mensahe ng lady producer.

Ang Regal producer din ang nagpauso ng Magic Kamison na kapag isinuot ito ng bidang artistang babae sa kanilang pelikula ay tiyak na kikita ang pelikula tulad nina Alma Moreno, Rio Locsin, Cherie Gil, Lorna Tolentino, Gina Alajar at marami pang iba. “The magic kamison brought them stardom,” say ni Mother.

Ilan pa sa mga sumikat na Regal babies ay sina Maricel Soriano, Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, William at Albert Martinez, Alfie Anido, Richard Gomez at Gabby Concepcion.

Halos lahat ng sikat na direktor ay nakatrabaho na rin ni Mother Lily tulad nina Mike de Leon, Lino Brocka, Chito Roño, Joel Lamangan, Mel Chionglo at Maryo J delos Reyes.

“I believe that the true success of any film is not only its box-office harvest or its critical success. A film can only be successful if it finds its audience or the audience discovers it. You cannot force an audience to watch your film by telling them this is good and their other choices are bad. That is the perfect way to lose your audience. I know because movies are also my children,” aniya pa.

Si Mother Lily din ang dahilan kaya nakapag-aral ng fimmaking sa ibang bansa si direk Jun Lana na dating scriptwriter/screenwriter noon sa GMA at sa mga pelikula ng Regal.

Si direk Maryo J na pagdidirek lang ang gusto na ngayon ay realtor na dahil kinumbinse raw ni Mother Lily sa build and sell business. Ang baguhang direktor na si Perci Intalan na dating show producer sa TV5 ay binigyan ng chance ni Mother sa pagiging direktor via “Shake, Rattle & Roll XV”. Nagustuhan daw kasi ni Mother Lily ang unang pelikulang idinirek nito na “Dementia” under Idea First Company.

Kuwento naman ng anak nitong si Roselle Monteverde-Teo, “I really learned a lot from my mom, especially during the days na she worked from the house and I saw how dedicated she was and I guess I adapted that tbecause of her passion in this industry. I also love and then embraced it by growing up.

“And to continue her work, I hope I can do or at least match her ingenuity and her craziness, everyone knows that she’s crazy but in a good way because she always keeps me grounded in all the things that I do. I’m grateful that I have a mother like my mom,” ani Ms. Roselle.

Sabi nga ng ilang nakakakilala kay Mother, minsan talaga ay luka-luka ang Regal matriarch at laging nagagalit ngunit totoong-totoo na siya lang ang producer na may puso lalo na sa mga ordinaryong tao.