Photo / David Fabros, posted in Pasion’s Facebook page
Francis Xavier Pasion, the award-winning director of films Jay and Bwaya passed yesterday afternoon.
He was found in his apartment bloodied, but authorities have yet to reveal the director’s death. He was 38 years old.
Pasion is known for his films that have reaped awards in the country and around the world.
Jay is about a producer filming a documentary on the death of a gay teacher. The filmed premiered at the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2008 and won Best Film, Best Actor for star Baron Geisler, and Best Editing. The film also won Best Feature Film at the Asian Hot Shots Berlin Film Festival. The same year, it screened at 30 international film festivals, including the Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
His second Cinemalaya film, Sampaguita, National Flower, premiered in 2010 and won the Special Jury Prize at Cinemalaya. It later screened at the Hong Kong Asian Financing Forum, the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, and the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany.
In 2014, Pasion’s film Bwaya premiered at Cinemalaya, where it won Best Film (New Breed), Best Cinematography, Best Original Music Score, and the NETPAC Award for Best Film in its category. It tells the story of a young girl who was eaten by a crocodile in Agusan del Sur.
Besides his film work, Pasion directed TV shows like Wansapanataym, On the Wings of Love, Nathaniel, Princess and I, My Binondo Girl, Dyesebel, and Sabel.
