A scene from Lav Diaz’s Magellan partly shot in Quezon province. Photo by Hazel Orencio
Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” was the Philippines’ strongest bet for the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film race. But the acclaimed film was shut out when the Academy announced on Tuesday, Dec. 16, its shortlist of 15 films to vie for the Best International Feature Film nominations in the 98th Academy Awards.
“Magellan,” the revered Filipino auteur’s saga on explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s (Gael Garcia Bernal) final, brutal expedition to the Philippines, was one of 86 entries submitted by countries. The 15 films in the shortlist now have a chance to be selected as the five nominees for Best International Feature Film.
Gael Garcia Bernal as the Portuguese explorer and colonizer in Magellan. Photo from Janus Films
The Oscars shortlists for final nomination voting in various categories were announced by the Academy on its press website and social media sites.
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Academy members from all branches were invited to opt in to participate in the preliminary round of voting, but must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
Amado Arjay Babon stars as Enrique in Oscar-shortlisted Magellan. Photo by Hazel Orencio
Before Tuesday’s announcement, “Magellan” was favored by critics and Oscar pundits as having a good chance to make it to the shortlist.
Diaz’s latest masterpiece, which won the top prize, the Golden Spike (Best Picture), in a tie with Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind,” at Spain’s Valladolid International Film Festival, features a cast that includes Gael Garcia Bernal as the Portuguese explorer and colonizer, Amado Arjay Babon, Angela Azevedo, Hazel Orencio, Ronnie Lazaro, Bong Cabrera, Tomas Alves and Rafael Morais.
Ronnie Lazaro as Raja Humabon in Lav Diaz’s Magellan. Photo by Hazel Orencio
In a highly competitive batch of country submissions, “Magellan,” which debuted at Cannes Film Festival last May, currently has a Fresh 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the popular film review aggregator.
Lav Diaz on set of Magellan in the Philippines. Photo by Hazel Orencio
The glowing review of Variety’s Guy Lodge reflects the praise critics have heaped on “Magellan”: “…Stunningly mounted, politically rigorous work, which confronts any viewers hoping for a sweeping biographical romp with a frank post-colonial perspective, thoroughly and violently dismantling any romanticized legacy trailing the eponymous Portuguese navigator. As a panorama of the damage wrought by the Age of Discovery, where one culture’s conquest was another’s catastrophe, it’s sobering and subtly transfixing — though it played in the non-competitive Cannes Premiere sidebar, a Competition berth would have been appropriate for a work this transporting and substantial.”
From left: Ruben Nepales, Gael Garcia Bernal and Lav Diaz | CONTRIBUTED
The 15 entries for the final five nominee slots in the Best International Film category are:
“All That’s Left of You” (Jordan)
“Belen” (Argentina)
“Homebound” (India)
“It Was Just an Accident” (France)
“Kokuho” (Japan)
“Late Shift” (Switzerland)
“Left-Handed Girl” (Taiwan)
“No Other Choice” (South Korea)
“Palestine 36” (Palestine)
“Sentimental Value” (Norway)
“Sound of Falling” (Germany)
“Sirat” (Spain)
“The President’s Cake” (Iraq)
“The Secret Agent” (Brazil)
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia)
The Academy also announced shortlists in 11 other categories for the 98th Academy Awards: Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects.
Other Philippine Oscar hopefuls also had good buzz as strong contenders before the shortlists were announced. These were Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Food Delivery: Fresh from the Philippine Sea” (submitted for Best Documentary Feature Film) and Don Eblahan’s “Vox Humana” (for Best Live Action Short Film).
The nominations in all the categories of the 2026 Oscars will be announced on Jan. 22. The 98th Academy Awards show will be held on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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