RETROSPECTIVE: LAV DIAZ
A central figure of contemporary cinema, famous for his extraordinary films of anomalous length, Lav Diaz is a shining beacon in the independent film scene.
Rejecting any standardisation of the form and managing to combine a love for a cinema free of all constraints with the spirit of political struggle, Lav Diaz has, over the last 22 years, created a unique body of film work that has indelibly marked the cinema of the new millennium.
Lago Film Fest has decided to pay homage to the Maestro of the new Filipino cinema with the first Italian retrospective “in theatres” showing his early works ranging from the impressive “Evolution of a Filipino Family” to the Pardo d’Oro “From What is Before”.
A seven-stage journey through the Philippines through the eyes of the most anomalous Golden Lion director of the last 20 years.
The selection:
Evolution of a Filipino Family – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 625’ / 2005 / Fiction
Heremias (Book One: The Legend of the Lizard Princess) – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 519’ / 2006 / Fiction
Death in the Land of Encantos – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 544’ / 2007 / Fiction
Melancholia – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 447’ / 2008 / Fiction
Century of Birthing – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 359’ / 2011 / Fiction
Florentina Hubaldo – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 367’ / 2012 / Fiction
From What is Before – Lav Diaz
Philippines / 339’ / 2014 / Fiction
Lav Diaz, (Datu Paglas, 1958), is a Filipino film director, screenwriter, film producer, cinematographer, editor and actor. He is often known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement and has made some of the longest narrative films ever made. Diaz is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary Filipino filmmakers. His films often deal with issues concerning the current social and political state of the Philippines. Diaz’s films have received acclaim and numerous awards. From What Is Before (2014) won the Golden Leopard at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival; A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016) competed for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and won the Alfred Bauer Prize (Silver Bear); and The Woman Who Left (2016) participated in the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and won the Golden Lion. In 2018, he received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the recipient of the 2021 Natatanging Gawad Urian (Gawad Urian Lifetime Achievement Award).
