Lav Diaz gets Prince Claus Fund Award

MANILA, Philippines - Lav Diaz (sixth from left) was honored along with other laureates by the Prince Claus Fund on Dec.10 at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn of The Netherlands (second from right) personally handed the Prince Claus Awards to the laureates.  

The laureates participated in a week-long Culture in Action, debates, lectures, film screenings and Q&A forum. Lav’s’ Mula Sa Kung Ano ang Noon had its Dutch premiere at the EYE Film Museum last Dec. 7 and his docu-film on the aftermath of the deadly typhoon Yolanda, Mga Anak ng Unos, was screened in the same venue on Dec. 8.

Incidentally, Mula Sa Kung Ano ang Noon (left) tops Indiewire Film Critics’ 2014 (10) Best of Undistributed Films (no US distribution, that is). The others are: 2. The Midnight After, Fruit Chan (Hong Kong); 3. Approaching the Elephant, Amanda Wilder (USA); 4. Ventos de Agostos or August Winds, Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil); 5. Songs from the North, Soon-Mi Yoo (South Korea); 6. For the Plasma, Bingham Bryan and Kyle Molzan (USA); 7. High Five, Manuel Facal (Uruguay); 8. History of Fear, Benjamin Naishtat (Argentina); 9. Bro’s Before Ho’s, Stephen Haars and Flip Van der Kuil (The Netherlands); and The Keeping Room, Daniel Barber (USA). — Reported by CELSO DE GUZMAN CAPARAS