At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Gael García Bernal) navigated a fleet of ships to Southeast Asia, attempting the first voyage across the vast Pacific Ocean. On reaching the Malay Archipelago, the crew pushed to the brink of madness in the harshness of the high seas and overwhelming natural beauty of the islands, Magellan’s obsession leads to a rebellion and reckoning with the consequences of power. A vast, globe-spanning epic from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (Norte, The End of History), Magellan presents the colonization of the Philippines as a primal, shocking encounter with the unknown, a radical retelling of European narratives of discovery and exploration.
Magellan
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Legend
OCOpen Captioned
Special Content
35mm
SFSensory Friendly
Magellan
Jan. 30 at 6:30: Opening Night Q&A with filmmaker Lav Diaz
Tickets: $11 (members), $16 (nonmembers)
"A hypnotizing historical and spiritual epic that’s immersive in a way that few decades-spanning stories successfully pull off."
"This stunningly mounted, politically rigorous work confronts any viewers hoping for a sweeping biographical romp with a frank post-colonial perspective, thoroughly and violently dismantling any romanticized legacy trailing the eponymous Portuguese navigator."
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Q&A with filmmaker Lav Diaz
Friday, Jan. 30 2026, 6:30
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- Lav Diaz is a filmmaker based in the Philippines. He’s renowned for his contemplative narrative style and extensive exploration of the Filipino socio-political landscape through cinema. Born in 1958 in Cotabato, Diaz has profoundly influenced the international film scene with his unique approach to duration and storytelling. His work often delves into the themes of history, suffering, and the human condition, marked by a style that involves long takes and black-and-white visuals. Diaz's major films include Norte, the End of History (2013), From What Is Before (2014), and The Woman Who Left (2016), which have garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards at prestigious international film festivals such as the Venice Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. His films are exhibited widely, challenging audiences with their length and depth, pushing the boundaries of conventional filmmaking to create thoughtful and provocative narratives.
