PinoyDVD: The Pinoy Digital Video & Devices Community
Entertainment => Film & TV Talk => Pinoy Entertainment => Topic started by: keating on Nov 04, 2007 at 04:46 PM
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Brace yourself for another opus from the maverick Indie Filmmaker..... Lav Diaz! DEATH IN THE LAND OF ENCANTOS will premiere on November 29, 2007 10 am onwards at U.P. Film Institute.
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m132/keating_01/lavdiaz-1.jpg)
Angeli Bayani, Perry Dizon and Roeder Camanag in the new 9hour opus from Lav Diaz.
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m132/keating_01/Lavdiaz.jpg)
Lav Diaz on the set at the house of the late Joey Gosiengfiao. Thanks to Raya Martin for the photos.
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Bring food and drinks, just like EBOLUSYON NG ISANG PAMILYANG PILIPINO, the screening will have breaks in between the 9 hour running time.
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Nov. 29? Thanks for the info...
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If the sked will not change. Are you back in town on those days, Noel?
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Only in my dreams.
Hey, y'all had a heads up re: the Nov. 29 screening from this thread--why didn't more people show up?
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Hey Noel, I thought you were in town. Nah I didn't catch it I have work.
Is it better than BATANG WEST SIDE?
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No, I prefer Batang West Side. And Pangarap ng Puso over Batang West Side, but it's the most enjoyable Diaz since Batang West Side.
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I guess the time frame is chiefly to blame for less audience on this film. But Lav doesn't care. You must have stamina to sit on his films.
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Sana. I couldn't block off my whole day - - -deadlines - - - and didn't want to come in midpoint. Sayang. Wanted to go to the screening.
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I feel really bad for not catching this. The weather, politics, health, and the very normal quest for livelihood have prevented me. Sigh.
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Catch the special FREE SCREENING at Mogwai's on Shoe Expo in Cubao at 3pm-12 midnight this coming Sunday, Dec. 30.
Mogwai is a coffee shop owned by Erik Matti.
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Jeez--three days' notice. Can't they do proper publicity...?
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We would be very happy if the place will be SRO like the MMFF. ;D
As Lav would always say......Don't compromise! Hindi natin sila kailangan. Tayo ang kailangan nila.
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Saw it last Sat at Mogwai. Love it! I like it than HEREMIAS. Lav Diaz' most visually striking film to date. Amidst the backdrop of the nature's wrath, there's political, bonding and resonates in the tradition of his previous masterpiece EBOLUSYON NG ISANG PAMILYANG PILIPINO.
Its nice to see again Lav, commentary and Raya Martin after the screening chilling out. Thanks to oggsmoggs and X44 for keeping me awake sometimes. I learned so many things again from these two resident film critics here. Thanks for the treat also. ;D
Oggs, X we should drop by more often at Mogwai. The seats are so comfortable and alternative venue if you want to skip those f**king movies being shown in the theatres, and its free!!
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(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m132/keating_01/mogwai.jpg)
Mogwai's first floor. The coffee bar and restaurant owned by Erik Matti and Lyle Sacris.
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m132/keating_01/mogwai2.jpg)
The screening room at the second floor. Thanks to Raya Martin for the photos.
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Encantos is easier to sit through. I think Diaz's is moving towards a synthesis of his styles from Batang West Side and Burger Boys (the humor) with his style in Heremias and Ebolusyon.
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BURGER BOYS is too amateurish, sometimes awful IMO. I have seen Lav's HUBAD SA ILALIM NG BUWAN and I was still stunned by the nudity in ENCANTOS.
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Burger Boys is actually a fascinating film, if you only listen to the soundtrack. It becomes a strange, unsettling radio drama.
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Burger Boys was the first and only film of Lav's I've seen that I didn't like but I'm actually interested in going back to it to see if I missed anything.
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I'd like to see Burger Boys myself...
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Burger Boys was actually shown believe it or not in Munich, thanks to Olaf Moller and myself. I don't know if anyone actually watched all the films there, though...
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Wow that was groundbreaking already, Noel. Maybe BURGER BOYS demands second viewing. I dunno but LARONG KRIMEN its original title has more sense than BURGER BOYS.
HUBAD SA ILALIM NG BUWAN went to New York porn shops with additional sex scenes intact.
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It's an absurdist film; Burger Boys makes a lot of nonsense; Laruang Krimen only makes sense.
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Kagadanan sa Banwaan Ning Mga Engkanto (Death in the Land of Encantos, Lav Diaz, 2007) (http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com/2008/01/kagadanan-sa-banwaan-ning-mga-engkanto.html)
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Lav Diaz discusses his cinematic philosophy
By Rica Arevalo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:12:00 08/01/2008
MANILA, Philippines—During a visit to a shoot of Cinemalaya’s TV ad, “Binary Codes,” I was surprised to see Lav Diaz on the set, not as a director, but as a talent. He was dressed as an Igorot writing on bamboo.
We sat with him to catch up. With eight feature-length features under his belt, he tells us that his struggle to make films continues, but he has already accepted the reality that his cinematic philosophy is “unacceptable” in the local movie industry.
Standards
He relates: “After ‘Hesus Rebolusyonaryo,’ ayoko na. Mamamatay ako sa sama ng loob. Kailangang maging totoo ka rin—hindi ko naman kayang ilaban ang nine hours of running time sa industry. Sino ba namang producer ang gagawa ng nine hours? Wala sya talagang kikitain. To create a niche and let my aesthetics go against the industry’s standards, mahirap.
“You need to understand our history: One hundred years tayong hinubog ng Hollywood, ’di pwedeng biglain ang Pilipino. Huwag kang magalit kung pitong tao lang ang nanuod ng pelikula mo. Hintayin mo at lalago rin ’yan!”
But, the yearning for his art continues—even without a budget. “I borrow money from friends. Gusto ko talagang gawin ang pelikula ko, so lumuluhod ako sa kanila para mangutang dahil kailangan kong mag-shoot. At one point, P300 na lang ang laman ng bank account ko!”
How does he sustain himself? He shares, “Vegetarian ako. Ang pagkain ko, five pesos na talbos ng kamote and P15 na ulam a day. I get a lot of support from my wife, kids and friends.”
Primarily, he thinks of himself as a cultural worker. “You think of cinema as a philosophy—nandyan lang sya, isang vision na ibinabahagi mo. Don’t expect anything. Madali tayong masaktan. ’Pag may sinabi sila, made-depress o magagalit ka. Alisin mo na ’yon!”
Does he get hurt when people call him stubborn or self-indulgent? “Oo, pero nagkakaroon ka ng wisdom habang nasusugatan ka. If you look at yourself as a philosopher, hindi ka na masasaktan. Ito ang cinema ko and my aesthetic stand—bahala kayo to decipher. I’m just sharing my vision. Sa perspective ko, walang maiksi o mahabang pelikula.”
His process of making films is changing, though. He explains: “I need to see the location. There, I create the story. Hinahayaan ko lang sya—like an organism.”
Special award
Recently, Lav’s nine-hour black-and-white film, “Death in the Land of Encantos,” was screened at the Cinemalaya film fest. It got a Special Mention at the Orizzonti section of last year’s Venice film fest. (His latest film is also being screened at the festival this year.)
He recalls: “The judges deliberated for two hours because they couldn’t decide if it was a docu or not. Frederick Wiseman, a documentary pioneer, was one of the judges. He told me he loved my work, but he concluded that it was not a documentary. So, they just gave it a special award.”
“Encantos” tells the story of poet Benjamin Agusan, who returns to his typhoon-devastated hometown from an “artistic” exile. He finds his home, family and lover all gone.