Lav Diaz's 'Magellan' wins top award at Spanish film festival

"Magellan" won the Golden Spike, the top award at the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI).

The Lav Diaz film shared the award with "The Mastermind," directed by Kelly Reichardt.

The Golden Spike is the top prize for the best feature-length film at SEMINCI, a major film festival in Valladolid, Spain.

According to SEMINCI, the jury praised "Magellan" for "allowing us to immerse ourselves in the past from the present, re-reading colonial history through a complex and critical lens."

The critics also lauded the film for its "extraordinary aesthetic, photographic and temporal vision," and its "narrative ambition, formal rigor, and unique ability to intertwine historical reflection with cinematic experience."

Lav is known for slow cinema, with his films running for several hours. Among his works are "Ang Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis," "Norte, The End of History," and "Batang West Side."

"Magellan," which has a running time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, will be submitted by the Philippines to the Best International Film Feature category at the Oscars. —Hermes Joy Tunac/MGP, GMA Integrated News