Filipinos love the movies. Ask any common Filipino, and he or she will tell you how he or she enjoyed the latest screening at the local cinema, or how he or she's excited about the next Twilight movie. Filipinos have always been a huge fan of Hollywood's offerings. But most importantly, Filipinos have always loved Filipino movies.

This is something a lot of people don't know, even Filipinos. The cinema of the Philippines is actually the youngest of the country's arts, and it's already one of the most popular industry and forms of entertainment among Filipinos. And the movie industry is one of the biggest in the country. The Philippine movie industry employs around 260,000 workers in the Philippines alone, and generates more than PHP1.5 billion in revenues every year.

Filmmaking is no doubt a healthy choice of career in this side of the world. And this is something many talented Filipinos figured out a long time ago.

The 70s and the 80s is widely considered the golden age of Philippine cinema. No one dares question that, because it is a fact. Those decades showcased some of the finest movies the Philippines has to offer. Those years showed what talented Filipino filmmakers were capable of, and the first name that comes to mind when I think about "talented Filipino filmmakers" is the name Lino Brocka. Simply put, Brocka dominated the golden age of Philippine cinema, throughout the 70s and early 80s. The brilliant Filipino filmmaker came up with classic films such as Tubog sa Ginto (1970), Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974), Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag (1975), and Insiang (1976). Lino Brocka is still hightly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, film director to come out of the Philippines.

Then the early 90s came around and it saw a huge dip in the Philippines filmmaking industry. Hollywood films struck the country's movie-going audience and it struck hard, pulling millions away from the local cinema in favor of Hollywood-produced movies. Production houses began losing millions and decided to close up shop one after the other. The industry didn't pick up again until the late 90s, when critically-acclaimed movies such as Jose Rizal and Sa Pusod ng Dagat began pulling audiences back to the local screen.

The contemporary movie scene in the Philippines looks promising. In 2002, the movie Mga Munting Tinig by Gil Portes garnered a lot of attention both local and in other countries. It was followed by Mark Meily's Crying Ladies, and later on Maryo de los Reyes' Magnifico, a simple movie about a boy who tries to help his struggling family.

The latest buzz in contemporary Philippine cinema today is Brilliante Mendoza, whose body of brilliant works includes Serbis, Kinatay and, more recently, Lola. His films have received wide acclaim both in local and international film festivals, including the prestigious Cannes festival. Brilliante Mendoza looks to be the new Lino Brocka. Will it lead to a new golden age of Filipino movies? Only time will tell.