A five-hour movie set in 1972 Philippines is the first Philippine entry to the main competition of this year’s Locarno Film Festival.
The announcement was made on July 16 at the official press conference of the acclaimed film festival, which is set to take place from Aug 6 to 16 at the Swiss-Italian town of Locarno.
Directed by Lav Diaz, Mula sa Kung Ano Ang Noon, the movie is loosely based on real events and characters and occurs around the time martial law was implemented by Ferdinand Marcos. It revolves around the lives of poor villages in one of the remotest regions of the Philippines.
It was shot in Abulog and Claveria in Cagayan Valley, San Ysiro in Antipolo, and Sampaloc in Quezon; and took nine months to produce.
Mula sa Kung Ano Ang Noon examines how an individual and the collective psyche responds to changes that such an event as martial law brings. More importantly it shows how martial law brought the Philippines to its darkest period.
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Mula sa Kung Ano Ang Noon is vying for the main competition at the prestigious 67th Locarno Film Festival. It is eligible for the Padro d’Oro (aka the Golden Leopard Grand Prize), which is the highest award that this prestigious festival gives.
