From What Is Before

A series of mysterious events plague a remote village that unknowingly sits on the brink of profound political upheaval in Lav Diaz’s Golden Leopard‑winning epic.

It is 1972, the year that President Marcos implemented martial law across the Philippines, and in a village in a remote corner of the country, strange things are happening. After a series of violent attacks, cows are found mutilated in a field. For no known reason, three houses are burnt down. Then a dead body is found on a walking track with strange cuts at the neck.

With rumours circling, some villagers turn to superstition to explain the mysterious events. Others harbour dark secrets of their own that threaten to add to the madness. Soon, the military arrive, promising to protect them from a threat they have seemingly been oblivious to all along.

Curator’s note

Sitting adjacent, in some regard, to his 2004 epic drama Evolution of a Filipino Family, director Lav Diaz once again returns to the lives of the working class during President Marcos' atrocious period of martial law, which lasted for over eight years. From What Is Before is a film that builds in political and military menace but avoids romanticising village life. There are dark‑as‑night secrets living in town, quiet betrayals and unforgivable human acts that sit in an odd binary with the human rights violations documented to have followed.

The film made its International Premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won the coveted Golden Leopard prize for Best Film.