First, there were seven—all well-made films of different genres and themes reflective of Philippine realities. But only one could be chosen as the Philippines’ official entry to the Best International Feature Film category of the Oscar Awards.

The verdict: “Magellan,” a film by Lav Diaz starring the Mexican actor Gael García Bernal and which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. 

The six other contenders were: “Green Bones” (directed by Zig Dulay), “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” (Baby Ruth Villarama), “Sunshine” (Antoinette Jadaone), “Song of the Fireflies” (King Palisoc), “Hello, Love, Again” (Cathy Garcia Sampana), and “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” (Petersen Vargas).

The choice of “Magellan” was announced by Paolo Villaluna, director-general of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), during the opening ceremonies of the Philippine Film Industry Month held at the Shangri-La Red Carpet Cinema on Sept. 1.

The selection committee, composed of Filipino film experts whose names were submitted to and approved by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, had a hard time making its choice, according to Jose Javier Reyes, top honcho of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). On “Magellan,” Javier Reyes expressed agreement with the director that “we cannot move forward if we do not understand our past.”

The journey

Diaz half-jokingly said the film started making itself in 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan landed on what would become known as the Philippines. “Ang hirap ipaliwanag kung paano namin natapos,” he said, hard put to explain the difficulty in making his first Portuguese-Spanish film. “I almost died [while making it].” 

“For me, ‘Magellan’ is about remembering the past so our country can move forward,” he added. 

The film chronicles the journey of the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, whose fleet accidentally landed on an island in what will be later known as Las Islas Filipinas—the Philippine Islands. 

It has yet to be screened locally, but those who have seen it say that budget limitations might have prevented Diaz from recreating huge battle scenes and pushed him to instead focus on the impact of the violence brought by colonial powers and weave in stories of faith, oppression and memory. The images were captured by Arturo Tort and Diaz himself.

“Magellan” is 2 hours and 40 minutes long and may well be considered one of Diaz’s shortest films. The man is known for making films that run for 8 or 10 hours (“Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis” and “Ebolusyon ng Pamilyang Pilipino,” respectively), and critics hail him as a champion of slow cinema.

But insiders say the version shown in Cannes, which is the same version that will be screened locally and submitted to the Oscars, is but part of a 9-hour director’s cut that will be screened later.

Despite it being a “shortened” version, “Magellan” has earned praise from film critic Guy Lodge, who said: “The spirit of slow cinema is alive and languid in this stunningly mounted, politically rigorous work…”

Promotions

The Philippines has so far submitted 37 films to the Oscars for Best International Feature Film, but not one has made it to the final selection. In 2013, another Lav Diaz film, “Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan,” was submitted; it failed to make the nomination despite critical acclaim.  

One hurdle is the necessity of intensively promoting the submitted film—a costly effort.

Villaluna says that the FAP is shelling out a “substantial amount” for the promotional campaign for “Magellan,” and that the FDCP is chipping in with ₱1 million. Filipino producer Paul Soriano says his European counterparts are sure to shell out their share of the promotional expenses. 

Diaz is optimistic. “We have a good distributor in North America and Europe. In the promotional aspect, we are in good hands,” he said.

“Magellan” has Gael García Bernal in the title role and features Filipino actors, among them Hazel Orencio, Ronnie Lazaro, Arjay Babon and Bong Cabrera.