SHOTLIST: DOHA, QATAR (APR. 10, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (English): FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: "We can see years, but there's hope. We can, you know, we keep fighting, we keep doing the right thing. And that kind of atmosphere, that kind of vibe will at some point corrode and destroy the environment. As a young man, you should have the kind of perspective that, you know, just keep going and everything. But, you'll go, at some point. Just have a positive vibe. 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: In a lot of your films, you are often after the truth. 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yes, yes, it is important. 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: The observation of life as it is. Why are you so obsessed with that? 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah. Truth is the most important perspective in life. You have to, you know, it's not achievable, but we can keep trying. It's important. Remember that as a young man. Keep trying to pursue the truth and you will. You won't get lost, man. You won't get lost. You just go for the truth. Always. Yeah. 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: In that regard, you have made 8-hour films 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah, yeah. Because I'm finding and trying to search for the thing, to find the truth, to keep going. I don't want to limit myself. I keep going. 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: On that regard. You make, like, very long films. Actually, there's a never-ending movie or film that is playing, right now and It is a tragic story in Gaza. 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah. 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Do you follow the news? 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: I heard about it. Yeah. 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: How do you feel about it? I mean. 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: What's happening in Gaza? 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Yes. 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: You know, it's a nightmare. It's a nightmare. We should at some point, you know... Those you know... Of course, we're doing something about it. But, you know... It is that kind of objectivity that at some point we must eradicate. Yeah. 16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Do you think there is enough reaction to this? 17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Not enough. There are not enough. Not so much action. There's a lot of cohabiting with, you know, the ones who are doing bad. So I don't know. It's a great debacle on the side of the truth and humanity that's happening in Gaza. The fact alone that most of the victims are children? This is the worst crime that you can, you know, ever due to humanity. There are very innocent people dying, you know, you know, living on this earth with nothing. What a waste. What a waste. İt is evil. 18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Do you one day plan to tell the story of Gaza? 19. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Of course. Any time we can go to do it. Yeah, I think every work that I did is dedicated to those kinds of atrocities. Yeah. They're so related, you know. 20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: You know you worked as a journalist. I can somewhat understand. 21. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: I worked as a young man like you. I was working with the newspapers in the Philippines. I will be telling, you guys will be telling the stories. You're the next generation. Yeah, you have to tell the truth. You know, keep fighting with the truth. And that's why the truth is very important. Don't let go of the truth. Because if you let go, the truth is gone. The fight is over. No matter what you do, if you let go of the truth, the fight is over. 22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Have you seen the documentary that was made by Palestinian directors, No Other Land? 23. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah, I haven't seen it yet, but I know that it's great. It's a great document for what atrocities happened and it's still happening. 24. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Yeah, I believe, I mean, he was arrested. 25. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah, he was arrested two weeks ago or a week ago. 26. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: You know, it is just surprising to see the people trying to tell the truth actually getting arrested. 27. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: It's happening everywhere in the Philippines, in Israel, in Gaza, in all over the world, in, you know, it's a morality that keeps striking us. But the thing is, you know, you can never... as long as people keep fighting, you can never bury the truth. Yeah, you can never bury the truth. Humanity has that kind of resilience to keep fighting for the truth. So as a young man, you should always go for the truth and not let go of it. 28. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: And that is the one thing that you hold dear in yourself. 29. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah. Every day I wake up I keep questioning myself. Maybe I stop making cinema, but no. There are still a lot of things to fight on, especially with the issue of truth. 30. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Oh, one final question actually. Do you know anything about Turkish cinema? 31. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: I have been to Türkiye, they gave me this award. Yeah, yeah. There's not much in the Philippines. There's a dearth of other cinemas. There's always Hollywood and Filipino cinema and Hong Kong as well. Those are the things that are just in the Philippines. But, you know, if you go to festivals, that's when I see Turkish cinema. 32. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANADOLU REPORTER SAYING: Would you like to visit Türkiye again? 33. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILIPINO DIRECTOR LAV DIAZ SAYING: Yeah, of course. Of course. Yeah, I love Türkiye. Well, I've been meaning to come. They have been meaning to invite me for so many years. But this is the only time that I had a chance to come here. Yeah, I like the program because I know most of the people who come and work here. Here the festival has festival programmers. They come here to talk so much about how progressive this festival is. It's been 15 years, to now that I have the chance always come here.DOHA, QATAR - APR. 10, 2025: A pioneer of the "slow cinema" movement, Filipino director Lav Diaz said it is important to seek the truth in cinema and that everyone should fight against the ongoing oppression in Gaza. “It's a nightmare. Of course, we're doing something about it. But it is that kind of trajectory at some point we must eradicate,” Diaz told Anadolu on the sidelines of an event hosted by Qatar Film Institute in Doha. Israel has killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, and rendered it almost uninhabitable. Diaz said there has not been enough global response to the devastation in Gaza. "It's a great debacle on the side of the truth and humanity, what's happening in Gaza. The fact alone that most of the victims are children, that's the worst, that's the worst crime that you can ever do to humanity. These very innocent young people dying, living in this earth with nothing. What a waste. It’s evil.” He said one day he might make a film about what is happening in the blockaded enclave. “I think every work that I did is dedicated to those kinds of atrocities. I just hope that one day there will be someone left to tell the story. But the thing is, you can never, as long as people keep fighting, you can never bury the truth. Humanity has that kind of resilience to keep fighting for the truth,” he said. - 'There's still a lot of things to fight on, especially on the issue of truth' The director, known for making films of record-breaking length, said he worked as a journalist in the Philippines at a young age and urged to keep fighting for the truth. “You guys will be telling the story. You're the next generation. You have to tell the truth, keep fighting with the truth. That's why the truth is very important. Don't let go of the truth. Because if you let go of the truth, it's gone. Every time I wake up, I keep questioning myself. Maybe I'll stop making cinema, but no. There's still a lot of things to fight on, especially on the issue of truth.” Diaz, emphasizing that he remains hopeful despite everything, said: "But there's hope, we can keep fighting. That kind of atmosphere at some point corrode and destroy the bad vibe, you should have that kind of perspective. Just keep going and everything bad will go at some point, just have that positive vibe.” He said he visited Istanbul for the Bogazici Film Festival, expressing his love for Türkiye, and that he would love to come again. Diaz’s work delves deeply into themes such as social injustice, the complex layers of the human spirit, and collective memory, creating a unique language in world cinema. He blends colonial history, local myths, and the individual's existential struggle through a poetic narrative. The filmmaker won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Norte, the End of History and The Woman Who Left. With a minimalist approach, long take sequences, and natural lighting, he draws the audience in, offering a multi-layered narrative influenced by music and literature. Diaz’s works have resonated at major festivals such as Cannes and Berlin, drawing attention to universal human issues from a local perspective.