Celebrated Philippines filmmaker Lav Diaz‘s examination of the human condition continues with “Kawalan.”
The work-in-progress has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart.
In the film, Tomas, the old venerable mayor of the remote town of Kawalan, learns that the invading Japanese will set up a garrison there. He organizes willing members in his community to set up a hidden settlement in the middle of the forest, where they can live unaffected by the horrors of war. As a young revolutionary during the 1896 fight against Spain and then as a soldier fighting against the Americans, Tomas had witnessed the effects of violence on people and become a pacifist. Now, he must see if inhabitants of the hidden settlement can escape the sufferings wrought by the war.
The auteur’s work, which has won awards at Berlin, Venice and Locarno, among many other prestigious festivals, frequently examines the current social and political state of the Philippines and, by extension, the world.
“Most of my works now are responses to the zeitgeist, to what’s happening in the world at the moment. ‘Kawalan’ is a confrontation to the human being that has become a [prideful], empty and apathetic creature right now,” Diaz told Variety. The overarching message of “Kawalan” is “that we’ve lost it. That humanity miserably failed,” Diaz said.
Who is he trying to reach with “Kawalan?” “Well, of course, us, the hubris that is humanity,” Diaz said. “Let us take a closer look at ourselves, at our souls, please. We can’t just let the human being burn.”
The film is produced by Hazel Orencio, who is also an actor and is a frequent collaborator of Diaz. “We hope to get and secure funding so we may be able to proceed with the post-production of the film,” Orencio said about her plans for Hong Kong. “As with other films of Lav, we plan to submit it to the A-list film festivals as soon as we’re done with the post.”
On his future plans, Diaz said, “I’m working on a new film that is still very much a critique on what is happening in the world right now.”
Lav Diaz, Hazel Orencio
HAF
