INTERNATIONALLY renowned and prizewinning filmmaker Lav Diaz (“Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino”, “Hele sa Misteryosng Hapis,” “Florentina Hubaldo”, “Ang Babaeng Humayo”, “Panahon ng Halimaw”, “Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan”, etc.) is a son of the earth.
Lav, Lavrente Diaz in real life, was born in Datu Paglas in Maguindanao in Mindanao so his youth was a life of a naturalist.
As a kid, Diaz was already a farmer in the south.
This milieu is also the symbolic setting of most of his films like his recent outing “Historya ni Ha,” a foray into the life of a puppeteer who performed in the countryside during the 1950s, particularly during the regime of President Ramon Magsaysay, shortly after his death from a plane crash.
The movie which premiered at the 2021 British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival is a testament of how Lav grew up in the boondocks of its reflection and throwback where he was with the common people. It is the world of the ordinary if not marginalized working classes among the farmers because he was and still is one of them.
In my exclusive interview with him, Diaz said he always looks back to his past in the many nuances of his films.
“Bumabalik akong lagi sa kinalakhan kong buhay sa kabundukan at kaparangan ng Maguindanao. Mga guro, social workers at magsasaka ang aking mga magulang. Madaling araw pa lang ay nasa sakahan na kami, nagtatanim ng palay o mais, at sa araw ay nagtuturo na sila (I always go back to where I grew up in the plains and mountains. My parents were teachers, social workers and farmers. We were already in the farm as early as the break of dawn and we were already planting rice or corn and at daytime, they were in the classrooms),” said Lav.
Noticeably, Diaz is also scarce in his public appearances except for some “required” media exposure. This peculiarity is also rooted, Lav said in his reclusive background as a farmer from a distant shore.
“Laking bundok ako, Boy. Hanggang ngayon, kahit saan, hirap na hirap akong makisalamuha. Kung maaari lang ay masaya na ako sa isang sulok, sa isang silid, o sa kadiliman ng isang sinehan at pinanunood si Mang Chiquito habang umaawit ito ng ‘Crazy’ at sumasayaw nang slomo (I am mountain person, Boy. Until now, anywhere, I find it hard to mingle with people. If it’s possible, I would just be happy in one corner or in a room or in the darkness of a movie house while watching dear old man actor Chiquito while singing ‘Crazy’ and dancing in slow motion)”, he chuckled.