8 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010 INQUIRER ENTERTAINMENT TELLING THE FILIPINO STORY TO THE WORLD

“MELANCHOLIA”
SHIREEN SENO

LAV DIAZ: “Don’t be afraid to go hungry.”

Lav Diaz
L
AV DIAZ is the acknowledged
leader of the Filipino indie
community, a true revolu-
tionary among cinematic rebels.
Who else but the most dogged and driv-
en of subversives would make 8- and 10-
hour films in defiance of the practice in
conventional cineplexes?
Who else could command respect and
awe from both international and local crit-
ics in spite of (sometimes because of) his
films’ length, breadth and depth?
Truth be told, Lav cannot, and will not,
be ignored.
He won the Silver Screen Award in Sin-
gapore for “Batang West Side” in 2002 and
the Special Jury Prize in Fribourg (Switzer-
land) for “Heremias” in 2006.
Next, he won back-to-back awards in the
Orizzonti section of the Venice film fest, the
world’s oldest—Special Mention for “Death
in the Land of Encantos” in 2007 and
Grand Prize for “Melancholia” in 2008.
This year, he served as juror in the Orizzon-
ti section.
Lav’s 10-hour epic, “Ebolusyon ng Isang
Pamilyang Pilipino,” Urian Best Picture for
2005, was named one of the Top 10 Films
of the Decade by the prestigious interna-
tional film magazine Cinema Scope.
(It was on the same illustrious list as Paul
Verhoeven’s “Black Book,” Bong Joon-ho’s
“Memories of Murder” and David Lynch’s
“Mulholland Drive,” among others.)
Like a true rebel, he describes the “so-
called film industry as a failure, culturally ...
its only agenda is ignorantly and obscenely
focused on entertainment, vanity, profit.”
But “the last decade marked a watershed
in the history of Philippine cinema,” he
says. “Filmmakers working outside of the
system attained a true upheaval.”
The digital revolution, he says, “liberat-
ed the filmmaker. The very feudal setup of
film production is gone.”
Beyond the commerce, he says, “the
greater praxis must be focused on a cultur-
al revolution to help this nation grow.”
He explains that there is a need to “cre-
ate a culture of greater viewing and under-
standing of cinema and its role” and this
“entails a confluence, a merging of forces,
the establishment of a national agenda.”
He points out: “Philippine cinema is ex-
periencing a rebirth but there are no
venues to show these new films.”
He calls for a “national outreach pro-
gram, the creation of public cinematheques
and cultural centers all over the country.”
He urges young filmmakers to not lose
faith: “Don’t be afraid to go against the pre-
vailing system. Don’t be afraid to go hun-
gry. Don’t be afraid to fight for the
truth.” Bayani San Diego Jr.