The Lav Diaz’s obra, Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis, topbilled by John Lloyd Cruz and Piolo Pascual, has been invited to compete in the upcoming 66th Berlin International Film Festival.
It is among the nine new films that will also hold their world premiere, the Berlin International Film Festival announced on Mon, Jan 10.
The prestigious film festival will happen next month from Feb 11-21, with Hail Ceasar! as its opening salvo.
Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis is an 8-hour epic about the Philippine Revolution, with characters drawn from the fringes of history.
This is Piolo and John Lloyd’s first movie together.
The film has quite the power cast that includes Cherie Gil, Angel Aquino, and Ely Buendia.
The project was first announced in July 2015 by director Paul Soriano, who is producing the movie.
Below is the list of the 9 new films shortlisted for competition:
– Cartas da guerra (Letters from War); Portugal
– Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad! (A Dragon Arrives!); Iran
– Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) – documentary; Italy / France
– Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery); Philippines / Singapore
– Kollektivet (The Commune); Denmark / Sweden / Netherlands
– L’avenir (Things to Come); France / Germany
– Quand on a 17 ans (Being 17); France
– Smrt u Sarajevu / Mort à Sarajevo (Death in Sarajevo); France / Bosnia and Herzegovina
– Zjednoczone Stany Miłosci (United States of Love); Poland / Sweden
