Lav Diaz
PHL entry wins the Golden Lion
By Earl D.C. Bracamonte
After winning the Siver Bear (Alfred Bauer Prize) at the 66th
Internationale Filmfestpiele Berlin for his eight-hour opus Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (Lullaby to the
Sorrowful Mystery), art house filmmaker Lav Diaz won the top prize, the Golden Lion (Leone d’Oro per il miglior film),
for the B & W revenge tale Ang
Babarng Humayo (The Woman Who Left), at the recently-concluded Mostra
Internationale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia.
“This is for my country, the Filipino people; for our
struggles and the struggle of humanity,” said Diaz in his acceptance speech.
Ang Babaeng Humayo
is about a woman (Charo Santos-Concio) released from prison 30 years after
being framed and wrongfully convicted and who plans to take revenge on her
former lover. Like Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,
the movie is also shot in black-and-white. The four-hour-film marks
Santos-Concio’s return to the big screen after a 20-year hiatus.
“I’m so proud,” Santos-Concio told ABS-CBN News. I’m very
happy for Lav Diaz – he really deserves this. When we were planning the film
back in March, we told each other we were just going to have fun. This really
is a most unforgettable moment. In 1976, Charo won as Asia’s Best Actress for
her role in Mike de Leon’s film Itim
(The Rites of May).
The screenplay for The
Woman Who Left was also penned by Lav Diaz as an adaptation to Leo Tolstoy’s
short story God Sees the Truth, But Waits.
A spokesperson for Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte said in a statement: "This triumph of Lav Diaz is the latest
addition to the Philippines’ biggest ever haul of awards in this year’s A-list
film festivals - Berlinale, Cannes, and now Venice. The luster of the
world-class Filipino talent has continuously shone.”
After Lav’s triumph, Allen Dizon also won as Best
Actor for his role in Mel Chionglo’s Iadya
Mo Kami at the 13th Salento International Film Festival in
Tricase, also in Italy. Dizon’s victory follows that of Jacklyn Jose (Ma’ Rosa, Cannes), John Lloyd Cruz (Honor Thy Father, New York Asia Film
Festival), and Sid Lucero (Toto, Los
Angeles Comedy Festival),
The other winners in the Venice Film Festival
were Tom Ford’s thriller Nocturnal
Animals (Grand Jury Prize), film directors Andre Konchalovsky (Paradise, Russia) and Amat Escalante (The Untamed, Mexico) tied for Best
Director (Silver Lion), Argentine thespian Oscar Martinez (The Distinguished Citizen, Best Actor) and American actress Emma
Stone (La La Land, Best Actress).
The festival jury was led by British filmmaker
Sam Mendes, who chose the winner from 20 film entrants competing at the 73rd
edition of the annual festival.
Lav’s triumph in the international film circuit
began in 2014 when he won the Pardo d;Oro (Golden Leopard) at the 67th
Festival Internationale del Film di Locarno with his entry Mula Sa Kung Ano ang Noon (From What is Before).
Ang Babaeng Humayo is one of nine
Filipino films considered by the Film Academy of the Philippines as contender
to the forthcoming Oscars Foreign Language Film race. The eight other
noteworthy works iare Roderick Cabrido’s Tuos,
Gil Portes’ Ang Hapis at Himagsik ni
Hermano Puli, Eduardo Roy Jr.’s Pamilya
Ordinaryo, Paul Soriano’s Dukot, Erik Matti’s Honor Thy Father, Joel Lamangan’s Felix Manalo, Brillante Ma. Mendoz’a Ma’ Rosa, and Lav Diaz’s Hele
sa Hiwagang Hapis.
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