Lavrente Indico Diaz (born December 30, 1958) is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. He is frequently known as one of the key members of the

slow cinema Slow cinema is a genre of art cinema characterised by a style that is minimalist, observational, and with little or no narrative, and which typically emphasizes long takes.Steven RoseTwo Years At Sea: little happens, nothing is explained ''The Guar ...

movement, and has made several of the longest narrative films on record. Diaz is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary Filipino filmmakers. Diaz started making films in the late 1990s. His first international exposure was at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 1999 with his directorial debut ''Serafin Geronimo: Ang Kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion'' (''The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion''). The Hong Kong event went on to present his next two features: ''Naked Under the Moon'' in 2000 and ''Batang West Side'' in 2001. European film festivals only caught on with '' Norte, the End of History'' (2013), which was entered into the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section of the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2013. American filmmaker Steven Spielberg was the Jury President for the main competition. French actress Audrey Tautou hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The French film ''Blu ...

and received much critical praise. Diaz's subsequent films have likewise received positive critical attention and many awards. '' From What Is Before'' (2014) won the Golden Leopard at the 2014

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

; '' A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery'' (2016) competed for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and won the

Alfred Bauer Prize The Alfred Bauer Prize was an annual film award, presented by the Berlin International Film Festival, as part of its Silver Bear series of awards, to a film that "opens new perspectives on cinematic art". The prize was suspended in 2020 after it ...

(Silver Bear); and '' The Woman Who Left'' (2016) competed at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and won the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

. He received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He is the recipient of 2021's Natatanging Gawad Urian (Gawad Urian Lifetime Achievement Award).

Early life

Diaz was born in Columbio,

Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...

. His childhood was marked by the violent conflicts between Muslim armed groups and the

Philippine government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

. Due to the dangerous situation, his family moved to the more peaceful town of Tacurong where he finished his high school education. Diaz graduated in 1980 with an economics degree from Notre Dame University in

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

Career

Diaz went to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

where began doing odd jobs for various publications and took up writing about music and film for a living. Then, he became a production assistant for ''Balintataw''. For a time, he wrote

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

as part of the editorial staff for ''Ang Masa'' and ''We Forum''. Diaz worked as a critic for the ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines which, as of 2017, is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner ...

'' newspaper in the late 1980s before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to study filmmaking. His Filipino-language short story, "Pula, Puti at Saka Blu at Marami Pang Kolor" (), which he wrote under the pseudonym Bahagharing Timog (), won 2nd place at the 1990 Palanca Awards under the category of Short Story - Filipino. He has won several international awards such as the award for Best Picture at the Singapore International Film Festival, the Independent Film Festival of Brussels and

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines presented since 1977 by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (), a Film criticism, film critic organization composed of critics, writers, and scholars. It is the regarded as the h ...

in 2002 and Netpac Jury Prize and Best Acting Ensemble (2001 Cinemanila International Film Festival) for his film ''Batang West Side'' (including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Music, Best Sound at the Urian), in Gawad Urian in 2005 for the film '' Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino'' (''Evolution of a Filipino Family''), and Special Jury Prize at the Fribourg International Film Festival in 2006 for ''Heremias, Book One''. His films often tackle the issues regarding the current social and political state of the Philippines. His film ''Kagadanan sa Banwaan ning mga Engkanto'' (''Death in the Land of Encantos''), the Closing Film of the orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival 2007, was awarded with a Golden Lion Special Mention. ''Death in the Land of Encantos'' was also in competition at the Artistic Innovation Award (Visions) of the Toronto International Film Festival 2007. He was three Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature recognitions (a second place (1990) and an honorable mention (1991) for short stories, and third place (1997) for screenplay). His film ''

Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...

'' won the Orizzonti Grand Prize at the 65th Venice International Film Festival in 2008. In January 2011, he joined the board of directors for Cine Foundation International.Cinefoundation.org
He went back in 2011 at the Venice International Film Festival for his film ''Siglo ng Pagluluwal'' (''Century of Birthing'') and which earned the Grand Jury Prize at the 13th Cinemanila International Film Festival. The following year, his film ''Florentina Hubaldo, CTE'' won Best Asian Film at the Jeonju International Film Festival and gained the On-Screen Award at the Images Festival. His 2013 film '' Norte, the End of History'' was screened in the

section of the 66th Cannes Film Festival. He received the Golden Leopard at the 2014

for '' From What Is Before''. At the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, his film '' A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery'' was awarded the Silver Bear

. In the same year, he also received the

at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival for '' The Woman Who Left''. Diaz has made crime stories, ghost stories and a musical. On the topic of genre Diaz has said, "It’s nice to dwell on genres because there are formulas there and you can work with them. But at the same time you’re free to break them." He is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010, the Prince Claus Award of the Netherlands in 2014 and The Radcliffe Fellowship of Harvard University, 2016–2017. Diaz was invited by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

to join as a member in July 2017. Diaz presented his film, ''Essential Truths of the Lake'', a sequel to '' When the Waves Are Gone'', at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival out of competition. Diaz's next film, '' Phantosmia'', premiered as an out-of-competition entry in the

81st Venice International Film Festival The 81st annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2024, at Venice Lido in Italy. French actress Isabelle Huppert served as Jury President for the main competition. Italian actress an ...

, his 8th film for the festival.

Political views

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Diaz signed an open letter published in ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

Filmography

Feature film

Other Credits

Television

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

Further publications

* Diaz, Lav. ''Batang West Side'', Edition Filmmuseum, 2-disc set, 2022 Österreichisches Filmmuseum * Guarneri, Michael. ''Conversations with Lav Diaz''. Piretti - Bologna - 2021 * Corinne Maury, Olivier Zuchuat (dir.), ''Lav Diaz : faire face'', Paris, Post Editions, 2022, 365 p.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Lav 1958 births Living people 21st-century Filipino screenwriters Directors of Golden Lion winners Filipino film directors Filipino screenwriters People from Maguindanao People from Marikina