Cover Photo By Gaby Bacani
Cover Photo By Gaby Bacani.

Riding the waves of life with Sir Gabby Fernandez


Beloved academic, writer, and award-winning filmmaker Mr. Gabriel “Gabby” Fernandez will forever be remembered by his family, friends, and students.


By Ralph Regis | Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Former Production Design Chairperson, Mr. Gabriel “Gabby” L. Fernandez, passed away last May 10. He held the said position from September 2007 to August 2016. He also served as a full-time faculty member for the Benilde Online Learning Term (BOLT).

 

Last May 13 and May 14, a memorial service for Mr. Fernandez was presided by Benilde chaplain Rev. Fr. Marco Divine Pangilinan SSS with a message, “The greatest gifts to our departed loved ones aren't materials; the greatest gift that we can give them is our prayers.”

 

A purpose-driven life

In an interview with The Benildean, Benilde President Br. Edmundo “Dodo” Fernandez FSC described Mr. Fernandez as a beloved younger brother. Growing up, they went to the same elementary and high school together. Later on, Mr. Fernandez spent the first years of his college life in University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) (Eco Honors) and transferred to University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod where he took up Communications.

 

“We had the same set of friends when he got to UP. Bacolod was good for him and his temperament and there he established roots, and eventually, it became his second home. When we would have retreats in Bacolod as a Young Brother, he would always make it a point to bring me out. I have fond memories of Bacolod because of that,” Br. Fernandez shared.

 

Though Br. Dodo didn’t have a chance to work with Mr. Fernandez on any of his projects, he was touched by the amount of tributes his brother got from his students and colleagues, “He was a good teacher. He says he wanted to be a full-time filmmaker and a part-time teacher but it ended up the other way around. Winning international awards for his two films is a testament that he did well as a filmmaker.”

 

Moreover, Br. Dodo shared that both he and Mr. Fernandez shared a lot of things in common. For instance, “a love for good movies and good books.” The last three books that blew Br. Dodo away were recommendations from Mr. Fernandez, among them were: “All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doer and “A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki

 

Br. Dodo has plenty of fond memories with Mr. Fernandez he’ll forever treasure, but the memory that first comes to mind would have been their trips together. “A number of times we travelled together to Sagada and we’d do long hikes and spend long hours just sitting in the pine forests of Sagada. Both [our] parents were teachers but among the nine siblings only the two of us became teachers, but I think he was a better teacher than me,” Br. Dodo recounted. 

 

Meanwhile, Center for Campus Art (CCA) Director Ar. Gerry Torres shared in an interview with The Benildean that Mr. Fernandez was “a passionate, helpful and driven person, intelligent, full of ideas and plans, and with a wicked sense of humor.” 

 

“I got to know him when I asked him to teach in Benilde back in the 90s, the early days of SDA (School of Design and Arts). I was then Chair of the Production Design (PD) program and was constantly on the lookout for industry practitioners who had the potential to be good teachers. 

 

Back then, Mr. Fernandez was an art director, assistant director, and acting coach for movies, for directors such as the multi-awarded Filipino filmmaker Peque Gallaga

 

When Ar. Torres became Dean, he asked Mr. Fernandez to take his place as PD chair. Hoping that one day, his students would be as passionate as he was for the craft, Ar. Torres saw in Mr. Fernandez the capability and desire to teach the younger generation and help them get into the industry. Ar. Torres was thankful for Mr. Fernandez, as he was the right person to continue the trajectory that he built for the program. They both agreed that the students were to be equipped with the training in both fields.

 

Mr. Fernandez directed the award-winning 2014 Filipino horror drama Mana, which featured a plethora of legendary actors such as Jaime Fabregas, Tetchie Agbayani, Ricky Davao, Epy Quizon, Mark Gil, Cherie Gil, and Filipino coloratura soprano Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. The film’s production led by Mr. Fernandez gave an opportunity for Production Design students to experience what it’s like to work in the film industry. 

 

Mr. Fernandez only made a handful of films as a director, but all of them garnered nominations and awards both locally and internationally. “I think that says a lot. It proves that it is not in the quantity of work that one proves excellence. His last movie, ALON, [was] about the dangers of marine plastic waste was his love song for the earth and a plea for us to take care of it. He did it with so much passion and zeal, and it is evident when you watch it,” Ar. Torres shared.

 

[alon] 15 March 2021 Digital Poster V2

 

Released in 2020, ALON: A Documentary on Plastic Waste was written and directed by Mr. Fernandez. The documentary brought awareness of the ill effects of plastic waste to the planet. At the London International Cinema Festival 2020, it garnered three nominations; including Best Foreign Language Documentary and Best Director of Foreign Language Documentary for Mr. Fernandez, and winning Best Film for Science and Education.

 

ALON was “Gabby's gift for all of us who love the earth.” The film was recently recognized for an Ani ng Dangal Award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Since then, the film was screened three times during the pandemic, and Ar. Torres believes it will continue to get invited for more. 

 

In all of the film’s recognitions, Mr. Fernandez always credited and included the team that had made the film possible. In the film’s poster, their names are prominently seen. 

 

This project was the most recent and the most memorable for Ar. Torres. It started out simply as utilizing interview footage of surfers for the CCA “ALON!” exhibit when Mr. Fernandez was asked to use them for a documentary that will be shown at the 12th Floor Gallery of the College’s School of Design and Arts (SDA) campus. 

 

“I did not realize that he was turning that small idea into a passion project that got, and still continues, to get a lot of recognition. When we would bring the movie to different schools or surf camps, he would always introduce it with conviction. He was proud of his work,” Ar. Torres added.

 

Mr. Fernandez was larger than life. Ar. Torres admired his passion as a mentor and teacher, “He was always looking out for the welfare of his students, even beyond graduation, always proud of their achievements and would always tell me about them. I never had the chance to work with him as a director, but with the little I experienced, he was a small guy with a commanding presence.”

 

“A few months before he left, he talked to me to propose a new exhibit! Up to the last he was thinking up his projects. He was so brave when he faced his illness. He never let it get the best of him. I will remember him for that.”

 

ALON: A Documentary on Plastic Waste serves as a lasting tribute to the passion for one’s craft, the lifelong memories, and the parting legacy to the PD program for Mr. Fernandez. The documentary is available on YouTube.

Last updated: Tuesday, 25 May 2021