LOS ANGELES, USA – Lav Diaz’s newest film, Phantosmia , was officially announced as an out-of-competition entry in the 81 st Venice Film Festival to be held from August 28 to September 7. With the announcement, Lav now has a record of eight films accepted by the world’s oldest film festival since his first entry in the festival on the Lido, Death in the Land of Encantos in 2007. Phantosmia , which the celebrated Filipino auteur titled after the condition defined as an olfactory disorder that makes people smell things that are not there, stars Ronnie Lazaro, Janine Gutierrez, and Hazel Orencio.
The cast includes Paul Jake Paule, Dong Abay, and Arjay Babon. Lav directed, wrote, shot, edited, and did the production design of the black and white drama. Phantosmia joins the filmmaker’s list of entries in Venice, one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, where he has won several awards, including the top prize, Golden Lion Best Film.
These films are: Death in the Land of Encantos (Horizons Award Special Mention, 2007); Melancholia (Horizons Award Best Film, 2008); Century of Birthing (2011); The Firefly (short, 2013); The Woman Who Left (Golden Lion Best Film, 2016); Genus Pan (Horizons Award Best Director, 2020); When the Waves Are Gone (2022); and Phantosmia (2024). The director offered this synopsis of Phantosmia , which is: “Hilarion Zabala’s (Ronnie Lazaro) mysterious olfactory problem has recurred; a counselor/psychiatrist suspects it to be a lingering.