Norte is Phl’s entry to 2015 Oscars

MANILA, Philippines - Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan, directed by Lav Diaz (photo), was selected by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the official Philippine entry to the Foreign Language Film category of the forthcoming Oscars.

“We’re all very happy, we were hoping but we didn’t expect it,” said Norte producer Raymond Lee. “To select a ‘four-hour’ film to represent the Philippines is a brave choice.”

Lee also hopes their Oscar campaign will get a boost from the US distributor The Cinema Guild, which is known to be a very discriminating distributor of documentaries and features of internationally-acclaimed filmmakers. The Cinema Guild bought the distribution rights of Norte early this year.

Norte has been getting rave reviews, to wit:

New York Times (June 19, 2014): More than four hours long, filmed in expansive takes with almost no close-ups and very few camera movements, Lav Diaz’s Norte, the End of History is a tour de force of slow cinema. The movie, something of a sensation at Cannes last year, is not difficult or obscure — there is a clear, dramatic story involving characters who solicit both empathy and curiosity — but it does require an adjustment of the usual viewing metabolism.

Washington Post (Aug. 7, 2014): Norte is more than four hours and challengingly austere by Hollywood standards. Yet it’s easier to watch than the work of many “slow cinema” stars whose films are hailed at international festivals. The story has forward momentum, and the near-static interludes that punctuate it are beautifully composed and photographed. Diaz deplores the poverty of Ilocos Norte, the Philippines’ northernmost province, but he doesn’t deny the remote area’s beauty.

Norte was named Best Picture by the Urian Awards given by hardcore critics. Its lead actress, Angeli Bayani, won Best Actress.