A Tale of Filipino Violence

Story

With his epic Sine Novela, Lav Diaz plunges deep into the bloody history of his country. In the middle of the night, Servando Monzon III is researching the history of his family. They originally came as colonizers from Spain to the Philippines and built a good life for themselves during the darkest chapters of the country’s past – and now this comfortable position is under threat. Soldiers patrol the countryside, allegedly looking for criminals and working on behalf of the dictator Marcos. With hypnotic imagery and surreal visions, the film records a history of violence with great relevance to the country’s current political state of affairs.

Director

LAV DIAZ (*1958 in the Philippines) is seen as one of world cinema's most important voices and has long been a sharp critic of the authoritarian governments in his country. FILMFEST HAMBURG has shown several of his films and in 2019 dedicated the main theme of Contemporary Cinema in Focus to Diaz.

Trailer