‘Hele’ in Italy, 4 PH cities

Lav Diaz (center) directs Sheenly Gener and Ronnie Lazaro.

Lav Diaz’s “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis” was screened in the Festa Mobile section of the 34th Torino Film Festival, held in Turin, Italy, from Nov. 18 to 26.

Critic Roberta Girau describes Diaz as “a giant auteur” and “Hele,” which focuses on the Philippine revolution of 1896, as “a great, great film.”

“Hele” won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlinale this year.

The Torino fest’s website calls “Hele” a “metalinguistic account that combines historical research, literature, folklore and the collective unconscious.”

Girau commends Diaz’s “extraordinary ability to travel [through time] with immeasurable grace…making [the viewers] vibrate and resonate in perfect harmony with the film’s images, characters…with nature, music, songs, poems.”

He has succeeded in “creating a more abstract film compared to his previous works.” In this eight-hour epic, Diaz tackles “the eternal conflict between good and evil, constantly reiterating that evil is an integral part of life.”

Still, Diaz celebrates man’s humanity in the face of chaos and darkness. Says Girau, “Diaz communicates [this] with a highly emotional film that speaks of a beautiful man and his soul…”

Also this month, “Hele” was shown at the 3rd Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival in Australia, and at the 47th International Film Festival of Goa in India.

Meanwhile, “Hele” will have screenings in four Philippine cities today (Nov. 30)—to commemorate the 153rd birth anniversary of revolutionary hero and Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio.

One of the historical threads that “Hele” weaves is widow Gregoria de Jesus’ “forlorn” search for the grave of her murdered husband, Bonifacio.

“Hele” will be shown at the Cinematheque Center of the Film Development Council of the Philippines in Manila, Baguio, Iloilo and Davao.

Screenings of the internationally acclaimed film will begin at 11 a.m.

Alessandra de Rossi in “Hele”

Diaz told the Inquirer that there will be Q&As in the different venues.

In Baguio, actor Ronnie Lazaro will present the film; in Davao, actor Bernardo Bernardo; in Iloilo, actress Sheenly Gener. Other cast and crew members will attend the screening in Manila, as well.

Diaz, who is currently in Harvard for a Radcliffe Fellowship, asserted that the Cinematheque screenings are “for the Katipunan, for the Philippine Revolution, for the country.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/helesahiwaganghapis