At the beginning of the 16th century, after having his proposal rejected by King Manuel I of Portugal (1469–1521), the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521) persuaded the Spanish Crown to finance an ambitious expedition. The aim was to find a westward sea route to the Spice Islands (the Moluccas), avoiding the routes controlled by Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas. Thus, in 1519, Magellan set sail from Seville at the head of a fleet of five ships and hundreds of men, embarking on a journey that would forever change humanity’s understanding of the world.

Over the course of three years marked by disease, hunger, mutiny and numerous conflicts, the expedition faced immense challenges. The voyage led the sailors through the strait that would later bear Magellan’s name and across the Pacific Ocean, in a crossing that tested the physical and moral endurance of the crew. When the Portuguese commander died in the Philippines on 27 April 1521, the mission continued under the leadership of the Spaniard Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476–1526).

On 6 September 1522, with only 18 survivors aboard the ship Victoria, Elcano arrived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Andalusia, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth. The voyage provided practical proof of the planet’s spherical shape, an idea that had already been proposed by Pythagoras around the 6th century BC.

Directed by Lav Diaz, Magellan features Portuguese producers Joaquim Sapinho and Marta Alves among its production team. Gael García Bernal stars as the renowned Portuguese explorer, alongside a cast that includes Amado Arjay Babon, Ronnie Lazaro, Ângela Ramos, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Tomás Alves, Bong Cabrera, Hazel Orencio, Baptiste Pinteaux and Roger Alan Koza.