SHE is an award-winning film director, a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, and the founder and moving spirit of an academy that teaches the art of film making. She is also a firm believer in dialogue and a member of the Sililah Dialogue Movement.

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She is Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

Under her initiative and leadership, a one-afternoon forum entitled "Arts for Peace" was organized on October 18, 2008 at the MDAFI Studio.

Speakers were Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ, who spoke on the topic "The Arts of Christianity" and Dr. Abraham Sakili, who presented the topic, "The Arts of Islam."

Fr. Javellana, SJ, is a writer, an art historian and associate professor of Fine Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University where he is the Director of the Fine Arts Program in the School of Humanities. Fr. Javellana is also an author of numerous books and has contributed to several important publications on Philippine history and art. Some of his books have been recognized by national awards.

Abraham Sakili, PhD, is a Tausug who was raised in Jolo, Sulu and left after the burning of Jolo in the 1970s. He is a professor of Islamic Art at the University of the Philippines. Dr. Sakili is not only a visual artist but also an author of numerous books and articles.

Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of Sulu is a recent art exhibit he mounted at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City. One of his written works is Space and Identity: Expressions in the Culture, Arts and Society of the Muslims in the Philippines.

Arts for Peace is an activity of the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center in collaboration with the Silsilah Forum Manila which will soon be formally organized. The focal person for this will be Ms. Marilou Diaz-Abaya and her Muslim counterpart will be identified soon.

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(November 3, 2008 issue)
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