He is especially notable for the length of his work, his films not being governed by time but by space and nature. His work mostly deals with the social and political struggles of his motherland. Since 1998 he has directed eighteen films, and won numerous international awards including the Locarno Golden Leopard, the Berlinale Alfred Bauer Silver Bear and the Venice Golden Lion.

Filmography

When the Waves Are Gone (2022, D'A 2023), A Tale of Filipino Violence (2022), History of Ha (2021), Genus Pan (2020), The Halt (2019), Season of the Devil (2018, D'A 2019), The Woman Who Left (2016, D'A 2017), A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (2016), From What Is Before (2014), Norte, the End of History (2013, D'A 2014), Florentina Hubaldo, CTE (2012), Century of Birthing (2011), Woman of the Wind (2011), Melancholia (2008), Death in the Land of Encantos (2007), Heremias, Book One: The Legend of the Lizard Princess (2006), Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004), Jesus, Revolutionnary (2002), West Side Kid (2002), Naked Under the Moon (1999), Burger Boys (1999), Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (1998)