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Vienna, October 2025 — In a noteworthy showing of Filipino cinema on the global stage, two films by acclaimed auteur Lav Diaz are part of this year’s Viennale festival lineup, drawing attention to themes of colonial legacy, personal trauma, and historical reckoning.
Films in Focus
Magalhães (Magellan)
Diaz’s latest epic, Magalhães, is a sweeping historical drama and international co-production (Portugal, Spain, France, Philippines, Taiwan).
At about 160 minutes, the film probes the roots of colonial violence by retracing the 16th-century expedition of Ferdinand Magellan—including his invasion of Cebu and the consequences for indigenous inhabitants.
Visually austere and deliberate, Diaz eschews spectacle in favor of long, contemplative compositions that evoke both discomfort and slow immersion.
Phantosmia
Phantosmia (2024) is a psychological drama that delves into memory, trauma, and sensory disturbance.
The story centers on Sergeant Hilarion Zabala, a retired military man haunted by olfactory hallucinations (phantosmia). To confront his past, he returns to duty in a remote penal colony, reliving the ghosts of violence and institutional complicity.
At nearly 246 minutes, the film unfolds in monochrome with long, measured takes, piercing silence, and a forensic approach to guilt and memory.
Screening Times & Places
Magalhães (Magellan)
- Saturday, 18 October, 17:30 — Metro, Kinosalon (OV w/ English subtitles)
- Monday, 20 October, 13:00 — Stadtkino im Künstlerhaus (OV w/ English subtitles)
Phantosmia
- Friday, 18 October, 19:15 — Metro, Historischer Saal (OV w/ English subtitles)
- Thursday, 24 October, 13:00 — Metro, Eric Pleskow Saal (OV w/ English subtitles)
Context & Significance
The inclusion of these films underscores the international reach of Filipino cinema, with Diaz continuing to forge a cinema of memory and resistance.
Magalhães brings a new scale to his exploration of colonial histories, situating the Philippines’ encounters with Europe in a global frame. Meanwhile, Phantosmia returns to more internal, haunted terrain—tracking an individual’s confrontation with moral violence and the traces it leaves on the psyche.
For Viennale audiences, these are rare opportunities to engage deeply with Diaz’s challenging cinema in a festival setting. The Metro and Stadtkino venues offer intimate, focused viewing contexts suited to the meditative pace of his work.
- Hector Pascua/picture: canva.com/viennale.at
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