The stunning Millionaire's Vines are the main attractions of the garden in Dante Mendoza's property. (Photo by BIBSY M. CARBALLO)

New will contest the fact that the Cannes Film Festival is the world’s premier showcase for cinema. It is considered an honor to be invited to even just participate in exhibiting one’s works at the festival. Lino Brocka was the first Filipino director to make a splash at Cannes. Thirty years after, independent filmmaker Brillante “Dante” Mendoza was invited to participate in the festival’s Director’s Fortnight which screened his film “Foster Child.” Since then, two of his films have been chosen to compete for the Palme d’Or; “Serbis” (2008) and this year’s “Kinatay,” which won him the Best Director award.

In the 62 years of its existence, no Filipino director has won an award at the Cannes festival. While the film community in the Philippines was ecstatic with the victory, it was generally lost on the larger number of the populace reared on decades upon decades of Hollywood gloss. The movie audience today is hardly aware of the existence of Cannes, or Venice as festival venues; much less the films screened there that rarely are shown in the Philippines.

Direk Dante understands this which is why he didn’t really expect a hero’s welcome upon returning home. Passionate film buffs bewailed the official lack of interest in the honors received by Dante, who deserved a welcome home party worthy of Manny Pacquiao or Gloria Diaz when she was crowned Miss Universe 40 years ago.

Prior to making films, Dante Mendoza was a production designer for films and advertising. Today, he makes films through his own resources on subject matters not tackled by mainstream cinema. His audience is small, albeit loyal. His films often tell the grisly truth of what is facing the country today –poverty, corruption, prostitution, drug addiction, crime and lawlessness,

Yet Dante’s life at home is as normal as anyone could be normal. He has lived at Chantilly Villas, a townhouse unit in Mandaluyong for a decade and a half. The three-storey, four-bedroom house bears the artist’s imprint even in its cramped quarters. A few meters away, however, is his office which also encloses his huge and beautiful garden. He shares his home with his 13 year-old daughter Angel, and her yaya Jenny. Four staff members live in the office, including assistant-gofer Harley Alcasid.

Way before Dante received the international acclaim he now has, we always welcomed a chance to attend a function, or a shoot at his home to gawk at the amazing garden he put together himself. It is a mélange of greenery with a few fruit trees and a handful of flowering plants with a pond inhabited by goldfish, carp and a single janitor fish. The garden has a concrete section with a unique type of roof cover composed of yellow bells under which an abundance of Millionaire Vines crawl. In the daytime, the sun peeks through the foliage resulting in hundreds of glimmering dots of light on the floor below.

The vines are eye-catching. A gardening aficionado once warned us not to be too taken in by the vine as it will tend to take over the entire garden, subduing every other plant standing  in its way.  Dante’s garden could easily be an ode to the Millionaire Vine and its despotic presence.

At Dante’s garden, Harley showed us the palmera, the small Japanese banana, santan abloom, pako, yellow bells, fan trees, various types of orchids, the Irish plant, and lotus in the pond. Harley says us it is direk Dante who personally picks out the plants from Bulacan Garden and tells them where they should go.           

Dante’s neighborhood could hardly qualify as a place to rear a child. There are shanties located just a few blocks away. Nearby establishments are hidden from view by concrete walls -- one can only imagine what exists inside. The only inkling of elegance one gets upon reaching Dante’s garden is the ivy covered wall at the entrance. 

Direk Dante tells us that when Angel was barely one year old, he wanted her to have a playground of her own. Walking around the neighborhood, he chanced upon this garbage infested property where a number of  homeless families actually lived. Only a man with a background in production design could have imagined a lovely garden rising out of the squalor. He built his office in front of some scrap material salvaged from his advertising shoots. He then had the garbage carted away, the area leveled and built his daughter’s playground. Even today, work continues on an extension of the garage which will be converted into as a studio where we suspect some of the best creative work in film will emanate.

Soon, however, it became evident that the 2,000 square meter property was evolving into more than a playground. Dante decided he would turn it into a commercial venue. He needed the extra income as he had chucked his high paying advertising job for making indie films that tended to be “income-reducing” rather than income-generating.  Bookings for the garden venue are coursed through Dante’s secretary Aurora or through Dante’s Peak Catering Service. Within a week of our visits, we got to attend Dante’s birthday party and  looked into preparations for a wedding. Harley notes they had two simultaneous events the following day. One party was held at the covered area which can accommodate 250 guests; the other at the garden cocktail area which has enough room for 75 to 100 guests. Happily, this entrepreneurial venture is helping sustain the many expenses an independent filmmaker faces.

Currently, Direk Dante is in Locarno, Switzerland  serving as member of the Jury for its international film festival. It was here in 2005 where Dante was discovered with his first film and entry, “Masahista.” The film won the festival’s top award, the Golden Leopard.  When he returns home, he will attend the special screening of “Kinatay”  on August 25 at Greenbelt 3 in Makati. He’s already preparing to shoot his latest film project which will be about growing old in the Philippines. The location shoot will be held in Malabon City.