Lavrente Indico Diaz, alias Lav Diaz, is a Philippine filmmaker who was born on 30 December 1959 in Cotabato in the province of Mindanao. He is a director, scriptwriter, producer, editor, cinematographer, poet, composer, artistic director and actor, and is particularly well-known for the length of his films, some of which run for up to 11 hours. They are not governed by time, however, but rather by space and nature. His films deal with the political and social battles being waged by his homeland and have earned him recognition at several international festivals.