Century of Birthing

Respected independent filmmaker Homer (Perry Dizon), whose intuitive, even tortured, creative process is self-deprecatingly modeled on Diaz’s own, endeavors to finish a magnum opus years in the making (Diaz’s still-unfinished Woman of Wind). Homer’s story dovetails with that of Father Turbico (Joel Torre), a vain and shallow cult leader; an investigative photographer documenting the cult’s rituals (Roeder Camanag); a poet who engages Homer in philosophical discussions (Betty Uy-Regala); and Sister Angela (Angel Aquino), a cult member whose religious conviction contrasts with Father Turbico’s autocratic madness. An interrogation of faith confronted by disaster, Diaz’s layered narrative further develops career-spanning themes of alienation and cinema’s revolutionary potential with a sharp, satirical wit.