Cirio H. Santiago

Cirio H. Santiago
Born	January 18, 1936 Manila, Commonwealth of the Philippines
Died	September 26, 2008 Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

Cirio H. Santiago (January 18, 1936–September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director, writer and cinematographer. He also uses the screen names: Cirio Santiago and Leonard Hermes.

Santiago was born on January 18, 1936 in Manila, Philippines to Dr. Ciriaco Santiago, the founder of Manila’s Premiere Productions, and his wife Adela Hermoso. He had two siblings, Danilo H. Santiago and Digna H. Santiago.

In the 1970s, he directed mostly English-language action/adventure films, some of which portrayed black actors and actresses as heroes. He is known for the films such as Savage! (1973), T.N.T. Jackson (1975) and Firehawk (1993). In the 1980s, he focused on creating low-budget Vietnam war movies. He had worked with U.S. producer Roger Corman and U.S. directors (namely Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante, and Carl Franklin). In 1995, he became the president of the Philippines Film Development Fund, a position appointed to him by then-President Fidel V. Ramos, to improve the quality of Filipino films and also to encourage the production of foreign movies on location in the Philippines.

Cirio Santiago died September 26, 2008 from lung cancer. He left behind his wife Annabelle and his children Christopher, Cathy, Claudine, and Cirio Jr. His third son Cyril died just a few months earlier.

Quentin Tarantino counts Santiago among his influences and based some of the characters in Kill Bill on Santiago’s movies.

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