THE CANNES Film Festival’s 78th edition, set for May this year, is welcoming back acclaimed Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz, whose newest film Magellan will be screened at the festival’s Premiere section.
The film, also referred to by its Portuguese title Magalhães, stars Gael García Bernal as the titular explorer from Portugal. He is a historical figure best known for leading the first expedition that circumnavigated the globe, and for arriving in the Philippines in 1521 in a preliminary attempt to establish Spanish colonial rule.
Despite the title, Mr. Diaz told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of an event in April that the film will “not just have the voice of Magellan.”
“Countering the perspective of Western powers, I want the film to be the voice of us Filipinos who were colonized by them,” he said.
Famous for the length of his films, the Cannes version of Mr. Diaz’s Magellan will be a shortened cut, clocking in at nearly three hours. “We have a version that has a runtime of nine hours,” said Mr. Diaz.
This is around the same length as his second longest film, 2007’s Death in the Land of Encantos which ran for nine hours and one minute. His longest film is 2004’s Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino which has a runtime of 10 hours 24 minutes.
Magellan covers the explorer’s marriage with his wife Beatriz, his voyage to the Philippines, his alliance with Rajah Humabon to convert the locals to Christianity, and his eventual demise at the Battle of Mactan. It is ultimately “a deep dive into this part of Philippine history,” according to the director.
Aside from Mr. Bernal in the lead role, the film stars frequent collaborators of Mr. Diaz: Ronnie Lazaro plays Rajah Humabon while Hazel Orencio plays Reyna Juana. The movie was shot in the Philippines, Portugal, and Spain.
As for going to Cannes, he told BusinessWorld that he is more excited by the prospect of “connecting with Filipinos there” than the prestige of the festival itself.
Mr. Diaz previously attended Cannes to show his films Ang Hupa, which was shown in the festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section in 2019, and Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan, for the Un Certain Regard category in 2013.
The 2025 edition of the festival, which has French actress Juliette Binoche as the Main Jury President, will run from May 13 to 24.
Magellan is a co-production between the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, France, and Taiwan. It is unsure yet where the nine-hour version of the film will premiere.
“I worked on this for seven years,” Mr. Diaz said. “Whether it’s Filipinos or non-Filipinos, my goal is for it to get audiences to reflect on the past.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana
