Lav Diaz

Lavrente Indico Diaz (born December 30, 1958) is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. He is frequently known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, and has made several of the longest narrative films on record. Diaz is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary Filipino filmmakers.Diaz started making films in the late 1990s. His first international exposure was at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 1999 with his directorial debut Serafin Geronimo: Ang Kriminal ng Baryo Concepcion (The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion). The Hong Kong event went on to present his next two features: Naked Under the Moon in 2000 and Batang West Side in 2001. European film festivals only caught on with Norte, the End of History (2013), which was entered into the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and received much critical praise.Diaz's subsequent films have likewise received positive critical attention and many awards. From What Is Before (2014) won the Golden Leopard at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival; A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016) competed for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and won the Alfred Bauer Prize (Silver Bear); and The Woman Who Left (2016) competed at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and won the Golden Lion. He received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He is the recipient of 2021's Natatanging Gawad Urian (Gawad Urian Lifetime Achievement Award).