Filipino film 'Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon' bags top prize at European Film Festival

Filipino Director Lav Diaz 

Filipino movie director Lav Diaz's masterpiece "Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon" won the top prize at the 67th Locarno International Film Festival last night. Locarno is considered one of the top 14 film festivals in the world, along with Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

The following is an English translation of the news posted on the Italian/Swiss website Giornale del Popolo:

         

The official Jury of the 67th Festival del film Locarno, consisting of President: Gianfranco Rosi, director (Italy) Thomas Arslan, director (Germany), Alice Braga, actress (Brazil), Connie Nielsen, actress (Denmark) DIAO Yinan, director (China ) has awarded the prizes at this year's Locarno Film Festival. The winning film was Kung Mula Sa Ano Ang Noon by Lav Diaz.

The Philippine film is an epic on the advent of martial law in the Philippines of the seventies. More than five hours transporting the viewer into another time dimension, making him live the depth of experience that is worth addressing. Diaz and his work were among the favorites for the vigil and they did not disappoint expectations. The film was one of the two Filipino able to snatch a "6" in our report cards (which you can read in the paper today, Saturday): the other was "La Sapienza" of Eufgène Green.

The prize for best director went instead to the Portuguese Pedro Costa, for the film Cavalo Dinheiro, while the Leopards for best actress and actor went, respectively, to Ariane Labend (seen in Fidelio, The odyssée d'Alice) and Artem Bystrov (seen in Durak).

 Two Swiss films in competition have not received accolades, but the audience award for this 67th edition goes to Peter Luisi for "Schweizer Helden."

The awards ceremony will be held in the evening, more precisely at 21 Piazza Grande. The festival will then be closed by the screening of "Geronimo" by Tony Gatlif.