Mike de Leon

Directing

Mike de Leon

Born May 24, 1947 · Manila, Philippines

Died August 28, 2025 · aged 78

Miguel Pamintuan de Leon (May 24, 1947 – August 28, 2025), also known as Mike de Leon, was a Filipino film director, cinematographer, scriptwriter and film producer. De Leon's films are a full reflection of the Filipino psyche that sought answer for questions on social class belonging, political absurdities, and fragmentations in various forms.

Known For

KisapmataKisapmata · 1981
Kisapmata
8.31981
MovieCrimeDrama
A young womans gets married but her possessive father refuses to let her out of his sight.
Manila... A Filipino FilmManila... A Filipino Film · 1975
Manila... A Filipino Film
1975
MovieDocumentary
Making-of documentary about Lino Brocka's 1975 film "Manila in the Claws of Light," featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
Manila in the Claws of LightManila in the Claws of Light · 1975
Manila in the Claws of Light
7.41975
MovieDramaMystery
Julio, a young fisherman from a provincial village, descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one.
Batch '81Batch '81 · 1982
Batch '81
5.81982
MovieDramaThriller
Sid Lucero, a 21-year old pre-Med student, is an aspiring neophyte of the Alpha Kappa Omega fraternity. Over a six-month initiation period, he and six other neophytes are subjected to severe physical and psychological torture in and outside the fraternity house.
An Indivisible HeavenAn Indivisible Heaven · 1985
An Indivisible Heaven
6.71985
MovieDramaRomance
Noel struggles to accept his father's remarriage to Agnes and the arrival of his step-sister, Melody. The two grow up harboring a bitter hatred for each other. When their parents die, Noel becomes Melody's legal guardian, much to her dismay. Later, each now married, the two become business partners and eventually grow closer.
AguilaAguila · 1980
Aguila
7.51980
MovieDramaAction
Flashbacks encompass the history of the Philippines as well as the life story of the elderly Daniel Aguila. The Aguila family gathers to celebrate Daniel's 88th birthday, but the old man is nowhere to be seen--he has been missing for a decade. Suspecting that his father is in Mindanao, one of his sons takes off for that region in a determined search. Along the way, his memories of the nation and his father's life tell the story of 80 tumultuous years of personal and historical development.
Sister Stella L.Sister Stella L. · 1984
Sister Stella L.
7.01984
MovieDramaCrime
A nun who acts as a counselor in a home for unwed mother undergoes political awakening when her friend and namesake belonging to the same congregation as hers inspires her to get involved in the struggle for justice and freedom of striking workers in a cooking oil company.
The Rites of MayThe Rites of May · 1976
The Rites of May
6.51976
MovieDramaThriller
During a return to his provincial home, a young man gets involved with a woman who is ultimately possessed by her sister's spirit, paving the way to revealing the painful truth about her unsolved disappearance.

Filmography

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Third World HeroThird World Hero · 2000
Third World Hero
7.92000
MovieDramaHistory
Two filmmakers try to create a film venturing on the life of Jose Rizal. Before they do that, they try to investigate on the heroism of the Philippine national hero. Of particular focus is his supposed retraction of his views against the Roman Catholic Church during the Spanish regime in the Philippines which he expressed primarily through his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The investigation was done mainly by "interviewing" key individuals in the life of Rizal such as his mother Teodora Alonso, his siblings Paciano, Trinidad, and Narcisa, his love interest and supposed wife Josephine Bracken, and the Jesuit priest who supposedly witnessed Rizal's retraction, Fr. Balaguer. Eventually, the two filmmakers would end up "interviewing" Rizal himself to get to the bottom of the issue.

Writer