LAV Diaz’s Magellan is the Philippines’ official entry to the 98th Academy Awards in Best International Feature.
It was chosen by the Film Academy of the Philippines, and was supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
In their official post, FDCP congratulated Lav Diaz, and in extension, the production of Magellan.
“Lav Diaz’s Magellan Chosen as PH Entry to Oscars 2026,” they announced.
The historical drama first premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival under the Premiere section, where it earned a five-minute standing ovation at the Debussy Theatre.
Its strong international reception marked another milestone in Diaz’s career as one of the Philippines’ most acclaimed auteurs.
Magellan presents a meditative and unsettling retelling of the final months of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who met his death in the Philippines in 1521.
Far from glorifying him as a heroic figure, the film strips down the mythology and depicts him instead as a man consumed by power and mortality.
One of the film’s most provocative aspects is Diaz’s challenge to a foundational piece of Philippine history: the existence of Lapu-Lapu, the local chieftain credited with slaying Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.
By suggesting that Lapu-Lapu may have been more myth than man, Diaz calls into question deeply ingrained national narratives, sparking debate on the interplay of legend, memory, and history.
