With the recent passing of Direk Wenn Deramas and Direk Francis Pasion, who are considered as two of Philippine film and television industry’s most notable directors, fellow filmmaker Direk Quark Henares expressed his sentiments towards the probable cause of their deaths.
Through a Facebook post on Sunday evening (March 6, 2016), Direk Quark remembered and shared how his friendship with Direk Francis blossomed, which started way back in college at the Ateneo De Manila University.
Also through the same post, Direk Quark addressed the “horrible working hours and conditions” all television directors, staff, and crew have to face on a daily basis. According to the director, the stress caused by such working environment may have been a factor in the deaths of Direk Wenn and Direk Francis.
“PS This might not be a good time to say this but i’ll say it anyway. I think the reason a lot of TV directors like Wenn Deramas and Gilbert Perez, and now Francis Pasion are getting cardiac arrests is because of the horrible working hours and conditions in Television. And it’s not just directors: stuntmen, ADs, crew people and cameramen all go through similar situations. This should really change. And I don’t know how it will, considering that this entails losses for the networks. But it really is time.”
Moreover, Direk Quark appealed to all television networks to consider change which will benefit not only the directors but the entire television production industry in the long run.
Direk Wenn who passed away last Monday (February 29, 2016) and Direk Francis who departed on Sunday afternoon (March 6, 2016) both died of cardiac arrest.
(Photo Source: Facebook – gravearchitecture / francisxavierpasion / Instagram – @wennderamas)