Lav, Piolo make Berlinale comeback

A scene from “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw,” which stars Piolo Pascual (kneeling at center), is Lav Diaz’s entry to the Berlin main competition. (Photo by BIANCA BALBUENA)

Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz makes a splashy comeback in the A-list festival, Berlinale, which will be held in Germany from Feb. 15 to 25.

The last time Diaz competed in the top-tier film event was in 2016, with the eight-hour historical epic, “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,” which won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize.

Diaz also won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival that same year for “Ang Babaeng Humayo.”

Two years later, Diaz is joining Berlin’s main competition again – with the musical “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” (Season of the Devil), which runs at three hours and 50 minutes.

Diaz is sharing this Berlinale comeback with some actors from “Hele,” namely Piolo Pascual, Angel Aquino, Hazel Orencio, Joel Saracho and Bart Guingona.

Shaina Magdayao, Pinky Amador, Bituin Escalante, Don Melvin Boongaling, Lilit Reyes, Ian Lomongo, Noel Sto. Domingo, Bradley Liew, Junji Delfino, Dub Lau, and Gan Hui Yee complete the cast.

Described as a rock opera, the black-and-white film is set during the martial-law era, in a far-flung village in the Philippines that is terrorized by a gang of militias.

The head of this year’s Berlin jury is German director, screenwriter, composer and producer Tom Tykwer, renowned for such films as “Run, Lola, Run” and “Cloud Atlas.”

The opening film in the 2018 Berlinale is Wes Anderson’s animated movie, “Isle of Dogs.”

Hailed as one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals (along with Cannes and Venice), the Berlinale attracts 20,000 film professionals, practitioners, critics and fans from over 120 countries.

Another Filipino film, Keith Deligero’s “Babylon,” is competing in the Shorts section.

/atm