Filipino motion picture to vie for 68th Berlin Int’l Film Fest top award

“Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” will vie for the 68th Berlin Int’l Film Fest top award./ Screen grabbed from “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” Facebook page/

By Jodi Bustos
Eagle News Service

A Filipino motion picture is among the 19 films to compete for the top prize in this year’s 68th Berlinale- Berlin International Film Festival which opens today, February 15, and will run up to February 25.

Lav Diaz’s “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (Season of the Devil)” will make a world premiere as it vies for the Golden Bear award, the highest prize awarded for the best film at the prestigious competition.

“Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” is a rock opera set in the martial law era that was shot in black and white. It stars Piolo Pascual, Shaina Magdayao, Angel Aquino, Bituin Escalante and many more.

Back to Berlin

Diaz, a veteran independent filmmaker made his way again to the Berlinale after he bagged the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear award for his debut film in the international competition titled “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis” (“A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery”), an eight-hour-long historical epic that touches on Filipino literature, history, and mythology. It tells the story particularly of slain revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio, and stars Piolo Pascual, John Lloyd Cruz and Alessandra de Rossi.

Main shows

Other movies selected for the main competition and which will vie for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards are:

“3 Days in Quiberon,” Emily Atef, Germany/Austria/France

“Damsel,” David and Nathan Zellner, US

“Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,” Gus Van Sant, US

“Dovlatov,” Alexey German Jr., Russia/Poland/Serbia

“Eva,” Benoit Jacquot, France/Belgium

“Figlia mia” (Daughter of Mine), Laura Bispuri, Italy/Germany/Switzerland

“Las herederas” (The Heiresses), Marcelo Martinessi, Paraguay/Germany/Uruguay/Norway/ Brazil/France (debut film)

“In den Gaengen” (In the Aisles), Thomas Stuber, Germany

“Isle of Dogs,” animated feature by Wes Anderson, Britain/Germany (opening film)

“Khook” (The Pig), Mani Haghighi, Iran

“Mein Bruder heisst Robert und ist ein Idiot” (My Brother’s Name Is Robert and He Is an Idiot), Philip Groening, Germany/France/Switzerland

“Museum,” Alonso Ruizpalacios, Mexico

“La priere” (The Prayer), Cedric Kahn, France

“Toppen av ingenting” (The Real Estate), Mans Mansson and Axel Petersen, Sweden/Britain

“Touch Me Not,” Adina Pintilie,Romania/Germany/Czech Republic/ Bulgaria/France (debut film)

“Transit,” Christian Petzold, Germany/France

“Twarz” (Mug), Malgorzata Szumowska, Poland

“Utoya 22. juli” (U – July 22), Erik Poppe, Norway

The jurors in this year’s competition include Tom Tykwer (jury president), German film director; Cécile de France, Belgian actress; Chema Prado, a Spanish photographer; Adele Romanski, American producer; Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese composer; and Stephanie Zacharek, American film critic.