LAV DIAZ . PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO

THE latest issue of the international film magazine Cinema Scope has picked Lav Diaz's 10-hour epic "Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino" as among the Top 10 Films of the Decade.

Quite coincidentally, Diaz shot "Ebolusyon" for 10 years as well, from 1994 to 2004.

The other films in the Cinema Scope list are: Jia Zhangke's "Platform" (2000); Pedro Costa's "In Vanda's Room" (2001); Lisandro Alonso's "La libertad" (2001); Thom Andersen's "Los Angeles Plays Itself" (2003); James Benning's "13 Lakes" (2004); Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" (2000); Paul Verhoeven's "Black Book" (2006); Bong Joon-ho's "Memories of Murder" (2003); and David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (2001).

Diaz told Inquirer Entertainment that the Toronto-based magazine's editor Mark Peranson e-mailed him about the inclusion of "Ebolusyon" in the list that was drafted by leading filmmakers, critics and festival programmers.

Diaz is happy and thankful to be included in the lineup. "These are great films... and filmmakers. I love and respect their works- especially Pedro Costa's. The great Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang died of cancer three years ago."

Filipino filmmaker Raya Martin wrote an essay on "Ebolusyon" in the same special issue of Cinema Scope.
'Pure cinema'
Martin called Diaz the "standard bearer of contemplative cinema," describing his oeuvre as "part history class, part film history, and pure cinema."

Diaz recalled that Martin, "who loved 'Ebolusyon'... used to drop by my old studio in Cubao during the struggle of editing it. He was still in college then and he asked lots of questions. He's a great student of Philippine cinema."

He only hopes that more Filipinos would get to watch his films that are sadly unavailable on DVD.

"I hope to get a grant to tour the film in local universities and far-flung villages next year and conduct discourse with students and barrio folk. We'll try to act on the DVD issue next year. But I heard 'Ebolusyon' is already available online [Torrentz], along with 'Heremias,' 'Death in the Land of Encantos' and 'Melancholia,' with Italian subtitles," he said.

He doesn't feel pressured by this latest recognition. "They are affirmations... but even without these honors, I will still work in the realm of greater aestheticism. Great cinema is great food for the soul."

He is elated that the world is now looking at Philippine cinema with renewed interest.
'Level playing field'
"It's now a level playing field in the festival circuit. The digital age, the Internet... dismantled the previous feudal setup where Hollywood, Hong Kong and European films dominated all venues of cinema."

He is grateful to the "earnest critics and programmers" who pushed for his works. "They know that my films are not mere novelties because of their so-called impossible lengths," he said.

Filipino filmmakers can sustain this global interest, he pointed out, through "better works, greater visions."

In the end, all this international acclaim could do ordinary Filipinos a world of good, he said.

"Filipinos now know that there are great filmmakers, great artists in their midst. We don't have to look far. Beyond commerce, the greater praxis must be focused on a cultural revolution... to help this nation grow. And cinema can be on the forefront."