Death in the Land of Encantos

Story

HYBRID When the world goes out of kilter: a nine-hour plunge into a shattered country and the survivors. In 2006, the Philippine region of Bicol was hit by catastrophe. First came the eruption of the volcano Mayo and a few weeks later a typhoon struck. Thousands were killed in mudslides. Diaz conducted interviews with survivors directly after the storm and interwove the material with a fictional story, in which the poet Benjamin returns to his devastated home country after years away. He manages to find two of his old friends, but has no chance against the destruction of the present and the traumas of the past. In Benjamin’s search and despair, the film densifies into a monumental discourse on the artist and his world.

Director

LAV DIAZ (*1958 on Mindanao, Philippines) is one of the most influential film-makers of today. Well-known for their long running times and unique style, his works have won prizes at festivals in Venice, Locarno and Berlin. FILMFEST HAMBURG has shown numerous of his films and in 2019 he was a guest in the section »Gegenwartskino im Fokus«.

Trailer