Lav Diaz's Batang West Side at Silverlens

December 17, 2022 – December 17, 2022
12:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Silverlens

505 W 24th St
New York, NY

Batang West Side, film still, 2001.

Batang West Side, film still, 2001.

Silverlens presents a drop-in, all-day screening of Batang West Side (2001), the first major epic of critically acclaimed filmmaker Lav Diaz. The 315-minute film will be shown from 12 to 5:30pm on 17 December 2022 at Silverlens New York for visitors to discover in the gallery space.

Diaz remains among the most heralded contemporary Filipino filmmakers behind some of the most important films of the “slow cinema” genre and the longest narrative films on record. Batang West Side is among five films by Diaz acquired by MoMA, New York.

In Batang West Side, a detective investigates the murder of a Filipino-American teenager in New Jersey. The trail of “shabu” (Methamphetamine) runs through the film like “a bloody trickle”. Winning a total of 14 awards, Batang West Side is a hypnotic portrait of a decaying life as a symbol of alienation from home. 

The feature is screened in collaboration with Corinne de San Jose, an interdisciplinary artist and multi-award winning sound designer currently exhibiting her new sound installation at Silverlens New York. De San Jose has designed the sound for several films by Diaz, including The Woman Who Left (2016), which was awarded the Golden Lion prize from the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.

For questions, contact infony@silverlensgalleries.com or +1 646 449 9400.