Lav Diaz

Magellan (2025)

At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan leads an expedition under the Spanish crown in search of the first westward route to the Spice Islands. He embarks on a perilous journey across the uncharted Pacific, where his fleet fac ...

Phantosmia (2025)

Hilarion Zabala has a mysterious, recurring olfactory problem. A counselor/psychiatrist suspects a lingering case of phantosmia, a phantom smell, and possibly caused by a deep psychological fracture. One recommended radical cure is that Hilarion must go ba ...

When the Waves Are Gone (2023)

One of the Philippines' top investigators, Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, faces a deep moral crossroads. As a firsthand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign conducted by his force, his anxiety and guilt triggers a severe skin disease, and his healing p ...

Essential Truths of the Lake (2023)

Faced with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody murders and brazen lies, ethically conflicted police lieutenant Hermes Papauran continues his struggle to find a resolution to a 15-year-old case around a volcanic ash-laden landscape and an impenetr ...

A Tale of Filipino Violence (2022)

With the imminent death of his autocratic grandfather, coinciding with the burgeoning oppressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Servando Monzon III, inheritor of the hacienda and businesses of his powerful clan, agonises on becoming the new feudal lord and ca ...

History of Ha (2021)

Puppeteer Hernando Alamada returns home, experiencing a bitter transition in the aftermath of the unexpected death of Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay. Communicating only using his puppet, he goes on a journey with a nun, a sex worker and a teenage boy ...

Genus Pan (2020)

Three illegal miners journey back to their island after months of toiling in hellish conditions. With their hard-earned money, they traversed the sea, the mountains and the forest until they reached their destination. Or did they really reach their cursed ...

Liminal (2020)

A FICUNAM commission for four directors, Liminal seeks to play with poetic affinities between film and music. Moving across aesthetic and generational differences, the film-makers explore this relationship through four distinct stories as to context and im ...

Himala: A Dialectic for Our Times (2020)

To this day, Ishmael Bernal's movie Himala is still in our town, in our world. This will be reflected in the broader perspective of the majority, of the surrounding events. Beliefs still lie in the truth. Consciousness is still dominant at the level of ill ...

Blockbuster Where a Giant Monster Destroys a Town (2019)

In a village of Cuba devastated after trying to imitate the north american suburb model, a sound recorder tries to tape sounds for an incoming blockbuster about a giant monster that destroys a whole town. ...

Mañanita (2019)

An ex-military sniper who was honorably discharged accepts a mission that will indefinitely change her life in the attempts to make ends meet. It is a quiet character study of when your life's purpose is stripped away, but you still pursue it, only to real ...

The Oceans Are the Real Continents (2019)

Having Cuba as a background, decadent and in crisis, in a black-and-white lacerated by the Caraibic swinging rain, Alex and Edith, a couple in their 30s, live their love story made of small daily gestures, stories from the past, nostalgia, and a deep intim ...

30th anniversaire of FIDMarseille (2019)

For the 30th anniversaire of FIDMarseille about thirty directors have done us the honor of offering us some very beautiful short films. ...

The Halt (2019)

Madmen control Manila in 2034 after massive volcanic eruptions have plunged Southeast Asia into darkness. ...

Journey (2019)

This is a Filipino omnibus film about three different journeys. ...

Ave (2018)

A princess seeks refuge in a Convent to escape an arranged marriage. A young prince tries to make sense of his station. A giant bird mysteriously appears after centuries of absence. MASLA A PAPANOK (AVE) mixes history, myth, memory and magic to reimagine t ...

A Short History of a Few Bad Things (2018)

In the southern Philippine city of Cebu, a troubled detective struggles to solve a series of grisly killings, while a deep conspiracy works to keep the truth just out of his reach. ...

The Boy Who Chose the Earth (2018)

The boy has something to do in his life, he trains himself and makes plans. Then there is a knock on the door and something pulls away and he literally stays in the rain. Lightning and thunder patter the water, devouring everything. Incredulous, the boy lo ...

Season of the Devil (2018)

In late 1970s Philippines, a military-controlled militia oppresses a remote village, spreading terror both physical and psychological. Fearless young doctor Lorena opens a clinic for the poor but disappears without a trace. Her activist poet husband sets o ...

The Woman Who Left (2016)

After three decades' wrongful incarceration for murder, a woman discovers that her friend and fellow inmate committed the murder of which she was accused. This leads to her release and subsequent discovery of the man who framed her — her ruling class ex- ...

The Day Before the End (2016)

In the year 2050, the Philippines braces for the coming of the fiercest storm ever to hit the country. And as the wind and waters start to rage, poets are being murdered. ...

A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016)

Andrés Bonifacio is celebrated as the father of the Philippines Revolution against Spanish colonial rule. This eight-hour epic examines this myth, undertaking an expedition into history through various interwoven narrative threads, held together by an exp ...

Death in the Land of Encantos (2015)

A poet hearkens back to his Philippine village after years abroad in Europe. Horrified to discover that the community has been buried under landslides, he wanders the countryside, reconnecting with friends, lovers, and family whose lives teeter on the brin ...

Heremias: Book Two - The Legend of The Invisible Island (2015)

sequel to "Heremias Book One : The Legend of the Lizard Princess" ...

Wake (Subic) (2015)

First begun in 2006, WAKE (SUBIC) completes the documentary diptych, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PHILIPPINES, the first part of which, VAPOR TRAIL (CLARK) was released in 2010. Collectively this nine-hour essay explores circumstances of toxic contamination around th ...

Storm Children (2014)

The Philippines is visited by an average of 20~28 strong typhoons and storms every year. It is the most storm-battered country in the world. Last year, Typhoon Haiyan, considered the strongest storm in history, struck the Philipines, leaving in its path ap ...

From What Is Before (2014)

The Philippines, 1972. Mysterious things are happening in a remote barrio. Wails are heard from the forest, cows are hacked to death, a man is found bleeding to death at the crossroad, and houses are burned. Ferdinand E. Marcos announces Proclamation No. 1 ...

Norte, the End of History (2014)

An embittered law student commits a brutal double murder; a family man takes the fall and is forced to take a harsh sentence; and a mother and her two children wander the countryside in search of some kind of redemption. ...

Alamat ni China Doll (2013)

A journalist investigates a woman with the name of China Doll. Soon, he discovers his knowledge of her turns out to be dangerous. ...

Prologue to the Great Desaparecido (2013)

Andrés Bonifacio, the freedom fighter known as the father of the Philippine revolution, was executed by rival revolutionaries in 1897. His wife, Gregoria de Jesus, searched for his body in the mountains for 30 days. It was never found. ...

Venice 70: Future Reloaded (2013)

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema. ...

Investigation on the Night That Won't Forget (2012)

Erwin Romulo, the late Alexis Tioseco's best friend, recalls the events after the critic and his girlfriend Nika Bohinc's untimely death in their home in Quezon City. Diaz makes use of one long take to allow Romulo an uninterrupted narration of the events. ...

Florentina Hubaldo, CTE (2012)

A young woman is held captive by her father and forced into prostitution. Meanwhile, two men embark on a personal quest for buried treasure. However, both groups show signs of debilitating illness. ...

Century of Birthing (2011)

An artist struggles to finish his work while a storyline about a cult plays in his head. As the cult spirals towards a fundamentalism that will destroy the world, the artist decides to destroy his muse to redeem the world. ...

Elegy to the Visitor From the Revolution (2011)

Structured and less beholden to its narrative, a 19th-century woman visits present-day Philippines and observes three interwoven stories: those of a prostitute, a group of criminals, and a musician. ...

Visitors (2009)

Hong Sang-Soo's Lost in the Mountains (South Korea, 32min) the visitor is the supremely self-centred Mi-Sook, who drives to Jeonju on impulse to see her classmate Jin-Young – only to discover that her friend is having an affair with their married profess ...

Butterflies Have No Memory (2009)

In the remote Philippines, the economic crisis has taken over and a group of men don't do much apart from drink. That is, until the return of a local girl who has been in Canada for years. ...

Purgatorio (2009)

A man and a woman follow a river, each on their own. Members of the Aeta tribe dance in an eternal circle around two motionless men. In a forest, human bones are found. ...

Melancholia (2008)

Three people start a strange therapy to escape their agonies. Each attempts to process those they lost during the Marcos dictatorship while examining their own grief. ...

Heremias: Book One - The Legend of the Lizard Princess (2006)

A wandering peddler suddenly decides to separates from his group of travellers, his reasons are unknown and the dangers will be many. ...

Image Nation (2006)

Imahe Nasyon is a groundbreaking, conceptual omnibus film by 20 alternative filmmakers who were tasked to present their personal visions on national issues. Renowned line producers Jon and Carol Red hatched the idea of revisiting the 1986 EDSA revolution, ...

Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004)

Spanning from 1971 to 1987, in rural areas under the Marcos regime, a poor farming family struggle to overcome challenges brought on by corruption and greed for power. ...

Jesus the Revolutionary (2002)

A man named Jesus takes on the ruling military junta. ...

Batang West Side (2001)

When a Filipino teen is found fatally shot on the streets of New Jersey, the investigation into his death reveals the struggles of the Filipino-American community, including the horrifying effects of methamphetamine on its youth. ...

Naked Under the Moon (1999)

A young woman recalls how her father (a fallen priest), her mother (a woman with a secret past) and her teenage sister returned with her to live in their ancestral home after the family business failed. She was plagued with mysterious problems of sleepwalk ...

Burger Boys (1999)

Four high school friends hatch a plan for a farcical heist that sends them spiraling into a series of surreal events littered with clowns, fast food, and 'rakenrol', in an even more absurd nation of squalor and entertainment. ...

Serafin Geronimo: The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (1998)

A man appears to a female reporter and claims he is the famous kidnapper that has the world astir and promises to turn himself in if she listens to his story. Though she is suspicious of him, she starts to fall more and more into his story. ...

Galvez: Hanggang sa Dulo ng Mundo, Hahanapin Kita (1993)

Galvez seeking for justice. ...

Daddy Goon (1991)

A Philippine comedy starring Paquito Diaz, Herbert Bautista, and Aiza Seguerra. ...

Good Friend, Evil Enemy (1991)

Ricardo accidentally kills his lover and requests his friend Mando, to serve the punishment. Meanwhile, the latter discovers that his friend ordered his assassination. ...

Moneyslapper (2024)

In dreary Porac Pampanga, a young man, Daniel, abandons his motherland after winning the biggest cash prize in the history of Philippine lottery. Five years later, he is searching for home and redemption through the people that make up his past. With each ...

Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust (2024)

In a sophisticated near perfect society, citizens live with paper bags on heads to dissolve differences. Tensions rise when the whispers of a mythical land without the bags start to float and a fresh council member sparks an accidental revolution. ...

Real Life Fiction (2024)

An actor with an illustrious career decides to write, direct, and act in a film that will inevitably bring him closer to his own demise before revealing that his truth may actually be far from what he has become. ...

Rizal's Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge (2024)

In this whimsical historical fresco, a counterpoint to today's urgent political issues, the figure of the Filipino revolutionary Rizal is revisited in the light of early silent films. ...

Taxibol (2023)

Driving around the streets of Cuba, Lav Diaz – the famous Filipino director – and Gustavo Flecha - a talkative Cuban taxi driver – find themselves discussing about politics, migration, social conditions and love; touching many personal stories and ex ...

The Devil of Comparisons (2022)

The Devil of Comparisons (original title: El Demonio de las Comparaciones), was a 30-hour black & white silent film from 1929 by Narding Salome Exelsio (1883-1949). It explores the cyclical lives, deaths, and rebirths of Jose Rizal and his characters (play ...

Atravesando el campo (2021)

A dreamer with a calm and minstrel attitude lays on the grass, recites a poem and makes an offer to a tree. Is he dreaming, or is he a part of a dream? A contemporary peasant dress in a nostalgic revolution's uniform, goes with his work routine in the coun ...

Life in 24 Frames a Second (2021)

"Life in 24 Frames a Second" is a film about hardship, misfortune, perseverance and triumph. The personal stories of John Woo (The Killer), Anurag Kashyap (Sacred Games), Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture) and Lav Diaz (The Woman Who Left), who survived extr ...

Blockbuster Where a Giant Monster Destroys a Town (2019)

In a village of Cuba devastated after trying to imitate the north american suburb model, a sound recorder tries to tape sounds for an incoming blockbuster about a giant monster that destroys a whole town. ...

Habambuhay: Remembering Philippine Cinema (2019)

A one-of-a-kind legacy project produced by TBA Studios, Habambuhay is a homage to the centennial anniversary of Philippine cinema–an insightfully entertaining documentary series, revisiting the personal experiences of those who work in front of or behind ...

Singing in Graveyards (2016)

Pepe, a 68-year-old impersonator of a Filipino rock legend, lives alone on the borders of reality, imagination and mysticism. One day, he is finally given the chance to open for the rock legend's concert but he must do something neither of them has done be ...

The Last Pinoy Action King (2015)

An intimate and often heartbreaking portrait of one of the Philippines' most beloved screen icons. ...

Salamat sa Alaala (2015)

The documentary serves as a tribute to National Artist for Cinema Gerardo de Leon in celebration of his Centennial Year. "Salamat sa Alaala." is inspired by the music composed by the late film director when he was a teenager playing background music for s ...

Lorna (2014)

Lorna is sixty year old woman who is constantly searching for the right man, having failed at so many relationships. Having lived close to a lifetime alone, she decides to take another stab at moving on and more importantly, love. ...

Echoserang Frog (2014)

An industry veteran is given a chance to produce and star in his own movie. But he quickly finds movie production isn't quite as glamorous as it seems. ...

Colossal (2012)

Colossal explores the complexities of grief and the process of grieving as understood through the myth of a Man as he ventures through shifting landscapes ruminating. ...

Jingle lang ang Pahina (2012)

Jingle Chordbook Magazine, first published in 1970, promptly taught a generation of Filipinos to play the guitar. Its story also explores how a small independent publication survived the weight of its time – the dark Martial Law years – and how it insp ...

The Great Cinema Party (2012)

A group of friends, sharing a passion for cinema, assemble in Corregidor, a small island in Manila Bay that has preserved relics from the Pacific War as its foremost attractions. There, they explore the island and retire in a rustic mansion used once to ma ...

Jeonju Digital Project 2012 (2012)

Elegy to the Visitor From the Revolution (2011)

Structured and less beholden to its narrative, a 19th-century woman visits present-day Philippines and observes three interwoven stories: those of a prostitute, a group of criminals, and a musician. ...

Return to Manila: Filipino Cinema (2010)

Documentary about the history of Philippine cinema. ...

Independencia (2010)

Early 20th century Philippines. The sounds of war signal the arrival of the Americans. A mother and son flee to the mountains, hoping for a quiet life. One day, the son discovers a wounded woman in the middle of the forest, and decides to bring her home. ...

Philippine New Wave: This Is Not a Film Movement (2010)

Documentary profiling the directors involved in the loose Philippine New Wave filmmaking movement. ...

Manila Skies (2009)

Inspired by a true news account, this is the astounding story of a lone deranged hijacker who has struggled to survive in the chaos of modern Philippine society. ...

Manila (2009)

A tribute to filmmakers and National Artists Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. In the "Day" segment, Piolo Pacual portrays the role of William, a drug addict who tries to rebuild his sense of self and reconnect with the people around him. For the "Night" seg ...

Green Rocking Chair (2007)

Juan Baybayin searches for the early alphabet of the Filipino and the journey takes him to different kind of adventures. A personal insights of the filmmaker regarding the baybayin-the early Filipino writings before the Spanish colonizers came to the islan ...

Todo Todo Teros (2006)

Basically an artist is also a terrorist, the protagonist thinks in an unguarded moment. And if he is a terrorist after all, then he might just as well be one. Not an instant product, but an experimental feature in which diary material is brought together t ...

Headless (2004)

The start of the film sets the tone. A tortured man looks as if he will castrate himself. Later he staggers aimlessly and bleeding heavily through the streets of a town that is just waking up. In parallel, the film shows the marital discussions of a couple ...