ANGELl Bayani (left) and Hazel Orencio in “Norte”: “A marvel of simplicity, depth and deviousness.”
Lav Diaz’s “Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan” won Best Picture at the Pancevo (Serbia) Film Festival held this week. The jury cited Diaz for “[confronting] the questions posed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ with contemporary and different ideological concepts.”
With the use of a “specific and original film language,” the jury said, “[the movie] tells a shockingly epic story which denounces contemporary civilization.” Among the jurors were Serbian actress Vladislava Milosavljevic, Croatian director Bobo Jelcic and Serbian critic Branislav Dimitrijevic.
“Norte” is showing until Sept. 16 at Glorietta 4 (1 p.m., 6 p.m.), TriNoma (12:10 p.m., 5 p.m.), Greenhills Theater Mall (2:30 p.m., 7 p.m.), Robinsons Galleria (7 p.m.) and Robinsons Metro East (7 p.m.).
Meanwhile, Diaz’s Locarno-winning film, “Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon” will be shown at Filmfest Hamburg (Germany), set Sept. 25 to Oct. 4. The fest website lauds the “brilliant” black-and-white images. “The five-and-a-half hour downward spiral earns the viewer’s attention with every passing minute,” it adds. The movie will be screened Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 in Germany. Bayani San Diego Jr.