MANILA, Philippines — Filipino audiences will finally get to see Lav Diaz’s “Magellan,” the Philippines’ official submission to the 2026 Oscars, when the historical epic sails into local theaters on Sept. 10.

Its homecoming comes as the film continues a major international festival tour.

“Finally, ‘Magellan’ is coming to the shores of the Philippines again. Magellan comes again,” said producer Paul Soriano. “We’re going to be strategic, obviously, with our showings. We should be announcing our cinemas very soon, but on Sept. 10, we will be showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide.”

“Magellan” world-premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May. It’s currently screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Later this month, it will have its US premiere before moving on to other stops.

“The great news is, it has a massive festival run coming up, starting with Toronto. We’re in the main slate of the New York Film Festival. We’ll also be in Busan, Tokyo — it’s gonna be well-traveled. We’re very excited as ‘Magellan’ travels the world again,” said Soriano, whose Black Cap Pictures bankrolled “Magellan” with Rosa Filmes (Portugal) and Andergraun Films (Spain).

The film follows the final months of Magellan’s life leading up to the Battle of Mactan in 1521.

The STAR and other press outlets spoke to Soriano, along with the man of the hour, Diaz, on the sidelines of the Film Academy of the Philippines’ (FAP) announcement that “Magellan” was the country’s official bet for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category.

Asked if Gael García Bernal, who portrays the titular role of the Portuguese explorer, will attend the Philippine premiere, Diaz teased, “Subukan, tingnan natin. Maraming kamukha si Gael sa Pilipinas.”

Photo shows a scene from the film, which was shot in Sampaloc, Quezon.

“For all you know, he’s here na,” Soriano added. “We hope to bring Gael back, obviously. I know he’s very supportive of the picture, he’s very excited that it’s coming out in the Philippines. He will definitely support us in one way or another.”

The film follows the final months of Ferdinand Magellan’s life leading up to the Battle of Mactan in 1521, where he was killed by warriors led by Lapulapu, widely regarded as the first Filipino hero.

“Walang kissing scene sa pelikula na ito, walang love scene,” Diaz joked. “May mga nakahubad but yun yung time na yun.”

Director-writer Lav Diaz (right) and Filipino producer Paul Soriano talk about their plans for their Oscars campaign during the launch of the Philippine Film Industry Month at Shangrila-Plaza. — Photo courtesy of the Film Development Council of the Philippines

What could cause a stir when Filipinos see the film is its historical framing — which suggests Lapulapu may have been “an invention of Humabon, the monarch of a neighboring island,” according to Agence France Presse in an earlier interview with the Venice Golden Lion-winning director.

“There’s nothing controversial about the film,” Diaz said when asked by The STAR about the film’s thesis, which was reportedly borne out of a seven-year research.

“We can defend that and maganda pag-usapan. It’s not controversial, it’s more of mas progressive yung pagtingin sa nakaraan,” he stressed.

“It’s always for the Filipino audience, for the Malay people,” the auteur further said about his latest work.

“Binabalikan natin kung saan nagsimula yung connection natin with the Europeans, who started colonialism sa Pilipinas 45 years later after 1521. Magandang balikan yun kung saan nanggaling.”

Oscars campaign

With “Magellan” now charting its course for the Oscars campaign, the question of funding support naturally arises. The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has allotted P1 million, which its chair, Joey Reyes, acknowledged is modest.

“Kasi ang labanan dito is in dollars. Approximately, the expense when campaigning is about 2 to 2.5 million dollars,” he said, citing the past experience of a local producer.

“But, I know that this government is fully supporting whatever is chosen.”

As for the exact funding amount, FAP director-general Paolo Villaluna told The STAR, “I can’t disclose any amount nor confirm the information but FAP is striving hard to acquire government support for the selected film. With enough budget for a robust campaign, we believe we have a fighting chance this year with ‘Magellan’ and Lav Diaz.”

Aside from budget, what he believes will give the film fighting chance is that “it is a beautiful, poetic and politically-strong film to start with.”

“And a scan of the Oscar winners for the Best International Feature category of the past three years, ‘I’m Still Here,’ ‘Zone of Interest,’ feature strong political, socio, justice topics, too.

“And Lav Diaz is a world-renowned (Cannes, Berlin, Venice) Filipino filmmaker whose time has come for Hollywood to discover him. Academy voters just have to hear about the film so the fight is in marketing the film.”

And with the Toronto and New York film festivals considered as “Oscar hubs,” “the opportunity this year is very strong.”

On the filmmakers’ part, Soriano assured that the team is “ready to fund-raise.”

Diaz added, “Good thing, we have distributors in North America and European distribution, and sa Pilipinas din. So we’re in very good hands in the promotional aspect. That’s a big deal already.”

“We’ll work hard (because) hindi lang kami ito, pati bayan kasali.”

According to Variety, “Magellan” has already tapped Cinetic Marketing, the agency behind international feature winners “Parasite” and “Drive My Car” to help with their campaign.

Looking back, the film’s journey to where it’s now has been a long and arduous one for Diaz, who even risked his health during production.

“Napabayaan ko ang sarili ko. Anim na buwan na nag-gamot sa tuberculosis,” revealed the director, who’s “OK” now and has since fully recovered.

The team had spent one month filming in Europe and six months in the Philippines, where they recreated a 1521 village in Sampaloc, Quezon. For Diaz, working with his lead star Bernal was certainly a highlight. “Kilala siyang actor all over the world, mahusay din siya and yung sensibilidad niya parang Filipino. He’s a very intelligent actor and he really studied his character. In fact, he prepared for that for almost two years.”

The team considers Bernal a major force as “Magellan” embarks on a historic quest to become the first Filipino film to reach Hollywood’s biggest stage. No Filipino movie has ever made it to the list of nominees.

Soriano recalled, “(Gael) has been to the Philippines twice already for the shoot. For the first part, he was here for three weeks and then he came back for another two or three weeks.

“He really loved the country, he loved everything about the Philippines. Like Lav said, he finds it very similar to Mexican culture. He will definitely be back to support the film, whether it’s gonna be for our Sept. 10 nationwide screening, we will have to surprise you.

“But he’s very supportive, he knows about the (Oscars) news and he’s also excited to campaign with us. He’s gonna be very crucial to the campaign for the film.”