Joey Reyes, Mother Lily
KANYA-KANYANG post ang ilang celebrities na natulungan ng Regal Matriarch na si Lily Yu Monteverde o mas kilala sa tawag na Mother Lily.
Isa rin si Mother Lily sa pinaka-respetadong producer sa showbiz at powerful, at higit sa lahat mahal siya ng mga taga-production dahil lagi siyang gumagawa ng pelikula para magkaroon ng trabaho ang mga ito.
Hinding-hindi naman malilimutan ni Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman Direk Jose Javier Reyes kung sino ang unang nagtiwala at nagbigay sa kanya ng break.
Post ni direk Joey sa kanyang FB accout kahapon, “If not for her, I would not be here. I would not be who I am today. She was the first who took the risk of hiring me as a screenwriter for a movie in 1979.
“Years later, we were having a casual conversation in her kitchen at her Greenhills residence when, out of the blue, she asked, ‘Joey, gusto mong magdirek ng pelikula? Sige, direct ka na’…And that brought me to a new level in what turned out to be the road map of my career as a filmmaker.
Baka Bet Mo: Aiko, Ice proud Regal Baby; malaki ang utang na loob kay Mother Lily
“She was beside me in 1999 when I entered Potsdamer Platz in Berlin where TORO ( that became LIVE SHOW ) made its premiere at the Berlinale… and there she was looking at me, laughing… as the lights went on and we were blanketed with applause.”
Ang “Live Show” ay naging kontrobersyal noong ipalabas ito taong 1999 na pinagbidahan ni Klaudia Koronel ay naging word of mouth kaya naman nakarating na ito sa kamalayan ng gobyerno at simbahang katoliko na kinondena ito ng Simbahang Katoliko.
Sey ni direk, “She was also beside me when we marched down Mendiola when I and the film were condemned by the then government and the Church. She never wavered. She never made excuses for her support. She stood behind the directors.
“When producers gave me up for being ‘over the hill’ or ‘laos na’ and I was told by a TV executive na ‘baka mayroon ka pa namang ibuga’, she held onto me and said, ‘Let’s do more work.’
“She was the only one who still believed in me to prove to others that despite the stretch of my career, that there was still something left for me to do. And when I went back into teaching and started doing more work in film, she was there behind me… never giving up on me and…embracing me as part of her family, reassuring me that all will be well.”
Itinuring na ikalawang ina ni Direk Joey si Mother Lily kaya naman pakiramdam niya ngayon ay malaking parte sa buhay niya ang nawala at hindi na niya makakausap parati
“So how can my heart not be in pieces now that she has left?” caption niya.
Wika pa niya, “How can I not feel the weight of the turn of events — just like so many others who she has helped, given chances, opened doors and pushed into the arena of possibilities?
“How can I not feel the pain of losing my second ‘Mother’… the mother who made me who I am today?
“I share this moment of loss yet eased by the thought that she is now with her partner in life, Father Remy… as they walk together to that place in eternity where they can be finally together.
“I find peace with the thought that hers is a legacy that can never be ignored or forgotten because if it were not for Lily Monteverde… if it were not for this Mother… the shape of Philippine cinema would not have been what it is today.
“This broken heart…shared by so many…only attest that despite all that is said about her… she was, is and will always be IMPORTANT.
“Goodbye, Mother Lily.
“As I whispered to you yesterday by your hospital bed …Thank you so much for all you have done for me an so many others. Ikaw ang ikalawang nanay ko. Mahal na mahal na mahal kita. Sige na, rest ka na.”