Lav Diaz

Lavrente Indico Diaz aka Lav Diaz is a filmmaker from the Philippines born on 1958. He is especially notable for the length of his work, his films not being governed by time but by space and nature. His work mostly deals with the social and political struggles of his motherland. Since 1998 he has directed eighteen films, and won numerous international awards including the Locarno Golden Leopard (FROM WHAT IS BEFORE, 2014), the Berlinale Alfred Bauer Silver Bear (A LULLABY TO THE SORROWFUL MYSTERY, 2016) and the Venice Golden Lion (THE WOMAN WHO LEFT, 2016).

Essential Truths Of The Lake

A film by Lav Diaz

2023 - Philippines/France/Portugal/Singapore/Italy/Switzerland/United Kingdom - Drama

When asked what drives a man to search for the truth, Lieutenant Papauran says dejectedly that maybe he just wants to keep inflicting pain on himself. Faced with President Duterte's bloody murders and brazen lies, he continues his struggle to solve a fifteen-year-old case around an ash-laden landscape and an impenetrable lake. It has become a cross he can barely carry but keeps dragging it anyway.

When the Waves are gone

A film by Lav Diaz

2022 - Philippines/France/Denmark/Portugal - Drama

Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, one of the best investigators of the Philippines, is in a deep moral crossroad. As a member of the police forces, he is a first-hand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign that his institution is implementing with dedication. The atrocities are corroding Hermes physically and spiritually, causing him a severe skin disease resulting from anxiety and guilt. As he tries to heal, a dark past haunts him and has eventually come back for a reckoning.

Season Of The Devil

A film by Lav Diaz

2018 - Philippines - Drama

In the late 70s, a gang of militias under the control of the military, terrorizes a remote village in the Philippines. The poet/teacher/activist, Hugo Haniway, decides to find out the truth about the disappearance of his wife. A love story set in the darkest period of Philippine history, the Marcos Dictatorship.
Based on real events and real characters.

The Woman Who Left

A film by Lav Diaz

2016 - Philippines - Drama

Horacia has spent the last 30 years in a women's correctional facility. A former elementary school teacher, she leads a quiet existence helping others practice reading and writing. When another inmate confesses to the original crime, Horacia is released and seeks out her estranged family. While searching for her missing son Junior, she discovers again her homeland - the Philippines of the late 90s, only to realize that its inhabitants are terrorized by corruption and rampant kidnappings. Her generous personality becomes tainted by feelings of revenge...

A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery

A film by Lav Diaz

2016 - Philippines - Drama

During the Philippine Revolution of 1896 against Spain, the ballad of Jocelynang Baliwag becomes the hymn of the insurgents. While searching for the body of Andres Bonifacio, Father of the Revolution, we embark on an epic journey through history, literature and mythology.