Two Pinoy films to be screened in Cannes

Two Filipino films, one on outward labour migration and another on war, are to be screened at Cannes Film Festival next month.

Lav Diaz’s ‘Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan’ (North, the End of History) and Adolfo Alix Jr’s ‘Death March’ are among the more than 40 films chosen from the 1,700 entries to this year’s 66th French film fest in Cannes from May 15 to 26.
 
‘Norte’ and ‘Death March’, both indie films, are competing in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section, said to be the experimental part of the world’s biggest cinema event as it showcases cutting-edge and daring works.
 
Festival de Cannes on April 18 announced the official selection which includes movies by such famous names as Roman Polanski and Steven Soderbergh.
 
Diaz and Alix join James Franco, Sofia Coppola and 11 other directors in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section. Franco shot his adaptation of Faulkner’s novel ‘As I Lay Dying’ in Mississippi while Coppola’s ‘The Bling Bling’ is the opening film for the section.
 
Known for his lengthy and introspective pieces, Diaz shot ‘Norte’, which runs four hours and 45 minutes, in the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte, while Alix shot ‘Death March’ entirely inside a studio.
 
This is Alix’s second movie in the French fest, having had his ‘Manila’ shown in the ‘Special Screenings’ section in 2009. And it’s a Cannes debut for Diaz, who has won twice in the ‘Orizzonti’ section of the Venice film festival for his ‘Death in the Land of Encantos’ in 2007 and ‘Melancholia’ in 2008. Encantos means otherworldly beings.
 
‘Norte’ tackles the stories of labour migration and economic progress in what was once a sleepy village of La Paz in Paoay town. ‘Death March’, on the other hand, is a war drama that recounts how the Imperial Japanese soldiers, who occupied the Philippines during World War II, forced some 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners to walk for 128km after the three-month ‘Battle of Bataan’ which was marked by physical abuse and murder.
 
Alix said he was surprised when Japanese actor Jacky Woo agreed to not only star but also produce ‘Death March’. “He said that this movie could encourage people to talk about that tragic part of our shared history,” he told the ‘Philippine Daily Inquirer’ on April 21.
 
Diaz also wrote the script for ‘Norte’ in collaboration with award-winning playwright Rody Vera who also wrote the screenplay for ‘Death March’.

 

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