Lav Diaz's 'Magellan' to premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Award-winning Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz's film "Magellan," starring Gael Garcia Bernal as Ferdinand Magellan, will premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Premiere section.

A nearly three-hour cut of the film will be screened at Cannes, with Diaz planning a full nine-hour version that will also involve Magellan's wife Beatriz, portrayed by Ângela Ramos.

Diaz, who plans to fight to keep his film from being cut down, stated, "I will have the full cut [...]. They will be having some headaches about it."

The film, originally titled "Beatriz, The Wife," explores themes of death and violence and was shot in the Philippines, Portugal, and Spain.

Supporting roles are played by frequent Diaz collaborators Ronnie Lazaro and Hazel Orencio.

This marks Diaz's third film to be featured at Cannes, following "Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan" and "Ang Hupa."