A Filipino giant named Mario O'Hara

Vita brevis, ars longa. Life is short, art is long. This truism becomes a living testimony to the works of a Filipino Renaissance Man—“actor, director, writer, a giant of Philippine theater and film," as affirmed in the eulogy from National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Mario O'Hara, 68, died from complications due to acute leukemia last June 25, 2012. With the news of his passing, a chorus of  artists and writers memorialized their mourning by turning his name a trending buzzword in Twitter. After the outpouring of grief came the ode to his artistry—at turns socio-realist and fabulist in its cold-eyed dramatization but always warm with its humanist vision.  Known for his unassuming ways, O’Hara certainly left a void in the hearts of many who attest to his generosity of spirit and his non-compromising craftsmanship. “Though he’s been invited to direct soap operas and mainstream films many times, O’ Hara was consistent in refusing offers from major studios, citing the creative limitations set by network executives,” cited a report.  

O’Hara wrote the screenplays of two famous films by Lino Brocka, the most internationally renowned Filipino director, one of which (“Insiang”)  became the first Filipino film to be invited to the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in 1977.  In 2003, "Ang Babae Sa Breakwater" (Woman of the Breakwater), written and directed by O’Hara, was also shown in Cannes. “This low-budget independent film was one of the pioneers leading the charge of Philippine cinema on the international festival circuit. Today Philippine movies are a fixture at Cannes, Venice, and other festivals. This would not have been possible without the ground-breaking work of the quiet, self-effacing Mario O’Hara,” acknowledged the Cinema One Originals Festival last year when it named him a co-recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award along with the Superstar of Philippine entertainment, Nora Aunor.

Known as  O’Hara’s muse and collaborator in most of his critically acclaimed films, Aunor started to be recognized as the “country’s greatest actress” when O’Hara directed her in the 1976 classic “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos" (Three Godless Years), which a film critic arguably considered as “the best Filipino film ever made.” 

That immortality becomes O’Hara can be gleaned from his body of work as a performer and filmmaker. That immortality becomes O’Hara’s can be gleaned from his essential body of work both as a performer and filmmaker.  His influence is immense, wrote a fellow filmmaker in a tribute titled "Once There Were Giants."