Lav Diaz returns to Berlin with musical movie
TWO YEARS after winning the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear prize for his film Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis ( Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery), Filipino auteur Lavrente “Lav” Diaz, is returning to and competing in the 68th Berlinale or the Berlin International Film Festival with his newest work, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw ( Season of the Devil).
“Here we are again, this electrifying feeling of completing a film after sleepless nights, rushing to complete festival and sales agent deliverables and getting ready to have the film shown in the Main Competition of one of the biggest film festivals in the world,” said Bianca Balbuena, one of the film’s producers, on her Facebook page on Jan. 22.
The Berlinale is one of the leading international film festivals alongside the Cannes Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Venice International Film Festival.
Touted as a musical/rock opera shot in black and white and set during the martial law period, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw brings together actors who previously worked with Mr. Diaz, notably Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis, including Piolo Pascual, Angel Aquino, Joel Saracho, Bart Guingona, and Hazel Orencio.
Joining the ensemble are Shaina Magdayao, Pinky Amador, Bituin Escalante, Don Melvin Boongaling, Lilit Reyes, Ian Lomongo, Noel Sto. Domingo, Bradley Liew, Junji Delfino, Dub Lau, and Gan Hui Yee.
Compared to many of his films which have very long running times — Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis was over eight hours long — Ang Panahon ng Halimaw runs for three hours 50 minutes.
Mr. Diaz’s movie will be competing against 24 other films including Unsane by Steven Soderbergh.
“May this film remind you to fight for your freedom, for your voice, for your right, for your country,” said Ms. Balbuena in the same post.
This year’s Berlinale will run from Feb. 15 to 24 and will be opening with Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, a stopmotion animation film about a Japanese city filled with banished dogs and a 12-year-old who goes to the city to find his lost pet. —