PARIS, France – In a hospital called Clinique des Buttes-Chaumont, Pierre Rissient receives visitors from the Philippines.

On his hospital bed are DVDs of vintage Hollywood and French films, his constant companions as he recuperates from leg surgery.

The 72-year-old French cineaste and critic was described as "the least-known massively influential person in international cinema" in an Internet blurb for a 2007 documentary on him, titled "Man of Cinema," produced and directed by Variety critic Todd McCarthy.

In the AFI (American Film Institute) Fest website, FX Feeney wrote that, in the last 50 years, Rissient "has operated behind the scenes as any mythic cardinal in a 19th-century novel ... launching the careers of countless great filmmakers."

Cannes break

A Variety article, also by Feeney, credited Rissient for introducing Clint Eastwood (as filmmaker), Abbas Kiarostami, Jane Campion, Quentin Tarantino, among others, to Cannes audiences.

On this list of illustrious discoveries is a Filipino: Lino Brocka.

"I worked closely with Lino," Rissient says—a little too casually, considering that it was largely through his efforts that Brocka's "Insiang" was noticed in Cannes in 1978.

Rissient also championed Brocka's other films - "Bona," "Jaguar," "Bayan Ko" and "Orapronobis" - to have them shown in Cannes, considered the world's most prestigious film fest.

He insists that he discovered Brocka, and Philippine cinema, "quite by chance." Or, more accurately, he adds, "by accident."

In 1975, he brought King Hu's "A Touch of Zen" to Cannes where, he recalls, it was warmly received. "Prior to this, people thought Hong Kong cinema was just Bruce Lee." His success with "Zen" inspired him to revisit Asia in 1977.

During marathon screenings in Manila, two films struck him the most: Eddie Romero's "Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon" and "Insiang."

In 1978, he brought "Insiang" to Cannes where, he said, it became a huge sensation at the Section Parallèle. "Insiang" started the ball rolling, not only for Brocka, but for Rissient's love affair with Filipino movies.

A year after "Insiang," Rissient visited the slums of Tondo where Brocka filmed "Jaguar," the first Filipino movie to compete in Cannes in 1980.

"On the set, Lino was always moving," Rissient says. "I was surprised ... and his mind was just as swift."

Rissient edited Brocka's next Cannes competition film, "Bayan Ko," shown there in 1984. "Fascinating," he says of working with the Philippine National Artist. "Even before he finished saying cut, he was already in front of the camera, preparing the reverse shot."

Biggest regret

He says that his biggest regret is that he didn't preserve behind-the-scenes footage. "I asked producers to keep the rushes, but I heard these were lost," he says, cautioning that the same fate could befall Brocka's films.

"Cinémathèque Française has four positive prints of 'Insiang' and 'Bona'," he reveals, "and the negatives are in LTC, a film lab here in Paris."

He explains why "Insiang" was pulled out of the recent (July) Paris Cinema festival: "I hope to get it restored [first]. I'd like to have it screened in Cannes next year. Hopefully, I could have 'Jaguar' restored as well ... "

If Rissient's plans push through, thus, "Insiang" and "Jaguar" will return to Cannes 32 years after his first encounter with Brocka.

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com