The much-awaited Sinag Maynila Film Festival is making a comeback this year, bringing a fresh celebration of modern Filipino cinema. Marking its seventh installment, the festival will showcase a carefully curated lineup of full-length movies, documentaries, and short films created by both seasoned and emerging Filipino filmmakers. From September 24 to 30, 2025, audiences in Metro Manila can experience these films in various theaters across the city.
Rooted in Filipino Stories
Established by Wilson Tieng, President of Solar Entertainment, alongside acclaimed filmmaker Brillante Mendoza, Sinag Maynila has always aimed to spotlight stories that reflect Filipino culture and experiences. The festival stands as a platform that champions local voices in filmmaking, emphasizing the importance of telling authentic Filipino narratives.
Growing Support for Local Filmmaking
This year, the festival breaks its own record by receiving an unprecedented number of submissions from across the Philippines, a clear sign of the country’s expanding talent pool. Wilson Tieng expressed his excitement about the high level of engagement from the local filmmaking community. “The enthusiasm from the filmmaking community is exactly what Sinag Maynila is all about,” he stated. “We are thrilled to continue our advocacy for ‘Sine Lokal, Pang-International’ and provide a space where these talented individuals can share their work with a wider audience,” added Mendoza.
Locations and Ticketing Details
Screenings will take place in several key venues, including Gateway, Robinsons Manila, Robinsons Antipolo, SM Mall of Asia, and SM Fairview. Tickets are priced affordably at Php 250, making it accessible for many viewers eager to discover new stories and talents.
The Finalists
Sinag Maynila 2025 Finalists: Feature Films
Altar Boy
Director – Serville Poblete
Cast – Mark Bacolcol, Shai Barcia, Pablo S.J. Quiogue
A passive-natured teenager struggles to navigate the school year while trying to break free from the persona built around his religious upbringing.
Candé
Director -Kevin Pison Piamonte
Cast – Gian G. Pomperada, JC Santos, Sunshine Teodoro
A successful Filipino chef in New York returns to his hometown for his childhood best friend’s funeral, where he must confront a tragic past and the possibility of long-overdue forgiveness amid the backdrop of a vibrant hometown fiesta.
Jeongbu
Director – Topel Lee
Cast – Aljur Abrenica, Ritz Azul, Empress Schuck
JEONGBU is the story of an evil element who wants to change the personality of Ethan’s wife and make her love him more than her own. ‘Jeongbu’ is a Korean word that also means ‘mistress’.
Madawag Ang Landas Patungong Pag-Asa (The Teacher)
Director – Joel Lamangan
Cast – Rita Daniela, Jak Roberto, Albie Casino
Three years after a shooting incident and the pandemic shut down the elementary school in a remote village, a new teacher arrives and struggles to persuade the children to go back to class, and to work with a community used to the “old ways”.
Selda Tres (Cell Number 3)
Director – GB Sampedro
Cast – Carla Abellana, JM de Guzman, Cesar Montano
After a brief and wrongful incarceration, a law office messenger helps defend his former cellmates in court as a paralegal.
Sinag Maynila 2025 Finalists: Documentary – Open Call
Bai
Director – Dimae “Ben” Holzhauer
Set in Butuan City in 2004, five football-obsessed kids use heart and hustle to help Mimi—the only girl among them—defy the odds and chase a dream that reaches far beyond the streets they call home.
Embo Between Two Cities
Director – Charles Kirby Fabellon
The 300,000 residents of EMBO were just numbers on paper but behind the data are real people, families, and lives caught in a political war between two cities. Their voices were left unheard as the transition unfolded.
Mga Bayaning Ayta (Ayta Heroes)
Director – Donnie Sacueza
The first-ever Filipino video documentary that narrates the tales of bravery exhibited by our Indigenous Ayta Warriors (Negritos), who valiantly defended our nation and fought for our freedom during World War II.
Oscar’s Recipe
Director – Giovanni Piolo V. Rayla
A former Walt Disney World executive chef now passionately crafts and serves top-notch, yet affordable dishes to students at his small restaurant in the Philippines.
Sinag Maynila 2025 Finalists: Documentary – Students
Alon Likha (Waves of Creation)
Director – Deanne Marie S. Idanan
Alon Likha follows Alvin “Tulala” Vergara, a pioneering Caviteño battle rapper who built a haven for artists through Ingay Likha—until its sudden end forced him to confront the silence left behind. A lyrical soul, lost and found.
Ballasiwen Ti Pinagbiyag (Across The Divide)
Director – Ahron Cula
A dedicated teacher braves a 28km motorcycle ride, treacherous lake crossing, and grueling hike to reach her Aeta students, determined to break the cycle of poverty through education.
Daungan Ng Mga Naghihintay (Where The Waiting Docks)
Director – Kaila Arvi B. Ariston
As fishermen vanish in the West Philippine Sea, a coastal community confronts loss, fear, and the unseen cost of maritime conflict
Kaliwa (Kaliwa: The Dam)
Director – Jade Oraa
The looming Kaliwa Dam Project inched the Indigenous People’s way to the President and to the people for persistent calls.
Pagtipig (Keeping)
Director – Reutsche Colle Lima
The Chicken Inasal vendors of Bacolod’s Manokan Country are fighting to preserve a culture and history that has been lovingly built over the past 40 years. However, a redevelopment plan now threatens to erase the very essence that makes this cultural landmark special.
Pendiyente
Director – Zyra Mae Plegaria
In a nation of sailors, Pendiyente follows families trapped in grief and uncertainty as they seek truth and justice for their missing loved ones lost at sea.
PDL 000
Director – Zechri Jacob L. Alvarez
In Ilocos Norte jail, inmates craft bonsai bead trees, tiny works of art that hold the weight of hope and redemption, proving that even in captivity, beauty finds a way to grow.
Puno’t Dulo Ng Bahaghari (Beginning And End Of The Rainbow)
Director – Kyle Dexter Millave
The documentary follows a trans man and a trans woman as they face the struggles of being called by their birth names in a country without gender recognition laws.
Romeo And Julie
Directors – Ysamae Yrrah Carelo & Edward John Louis Factes
How can one begin to build a life when their very existence is unrecognized? Romeo and Julie is a documentary that follows two adult foundlings in their search for belongingness and identity, after aging out of a system that left them without legal recognition.
Sa Wakas, Kasama (Finally, With You)
Director – Janno Pelias
A son of an overseas Filipino worker documents his time with his father, who had recently returned full-time back home after being overseas for so long.
Tuninong Na Pagpayaba (Silent Love)
Director – Lorenz Adler A. Villamor
Living with his deaf mother and father, a ten-year-old boy discovers a new meaning of love amidst the silence of their home.
Sinag Maynila 2025 Finalists: Short Films – Open Call
Ang Babayi sa Suba (The Woman From The River)
Director – Jonathan Jurilla
When a desperate woman emerges from a river searching for a mysterious figure named Dungan, she must choose between trusting a shadowy stranger who offers passage across deadly waters or remaining trapped in a world that refuses to help her.
Ang Gadya Sang Suba (The Tale Of The River Monster)
Director – Daniel de la Cruz
Seven-year-old Ding revels in the mystery of the river monster that takes the lives of people in an enchanted river, embarking on a journey with his friends to confront the Gadya Sang Suba (River Monster).
Defectives
Director – Jalen Buenaseda
Two lost robots question their purpose and existence while trying to find their owner.
Hello, Mr. Jenkins
Directors – Gian Arre & Flo Reyes
A quiet girl clings to the safety of a fantasy world to escape the online advances of an older man until her safe haven begins to warp, reflecting the sinister desires of the stranger she was forced to entertain.
Kataw
Director – Alyssa Ashley Manugas
In a future where climate change has submerged nations, a group of children undergo an experimental surgery to emulate a mythical creature and ensure their generation’s and Filipinos’ survival.
Lip Sync Assassin
Director – Jon Galvez
A fabulous drag queen moonlights as a hired killer and receives her new target that tests how far she can go to support her daughter and family.
Muli Na Ka, Merlie (Merlie, Go Home)
Director – Shane David
Facing the threat of demolition, Merlie, a young girl, makes her bravest decisions in the hopes of staying.
Nagahanaw Na Mga Aninipot (Vanishing Fireflies)
Director – JP Corton
In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in Tabango, Leyte, fireflies that once lit the nights begin to disappear. Young Russell steps bravely into the darkness to find a new light of hope in the face of overwhelming loss.
Open Time
Director – Mark Moneda
“Open Time” is a coming-of-age short film about a homeless boy whose life changes after joining a high-stakes computer game match led by elite high school student players.
Parapo (Stop!)
Director – Jhonny Bobier
The worst visual depiction of the several harmful cultures that every Filipino person is exposed to.
Sa Pwesto ni Pistong (The Barber’s Chair)
Director – VinJo Entuna
A humble barber navigates a tumultuous era while serving a diverse array of customers including a prominent hacendero and an idealistic nephew.
Si Sir kag ang Gamay nga Bata (Sir And The Kid)
Director – Seb Valdez
Two mystical beings coexist with the people of Brgy. Fabrica, silently witnessing their daily lives—the good, the bad, and the absurdity in between.
Together
Director – Blasgil C. Tanquilut
In a world on the brink of collapse, two couples struggling to survive find renewed hope in a mysterious young girl, only to discover that salvation comes at a price that will test their love, loyalty, and the true meaning of family.
Transients
Director – Kyla Danelle Romero
After reconnecting through a phone call, Justin, an analog filmmaker, and Grace, a frustrated poet, reminisce about the day they first met.
Walk with Jesus
Director – Redh Honoridez
While hiding from a pursuing death squad, Maya encounters Jesus, who takes her out for a walk. Will she be home in time for the ultimate test of faith?
Walo-walo: Walo ka Adlaw nga Kanay, Walo ka Adlaw nga Labugay (Sea Krait: Eight Days of Calm, Eight Days of Turbulence)
Director – Mery Grace Rama-Mission
When the sea has gone mad for 8 relentless days, would you risk leaving your young family, hoping the promised 8 days of calm will follow?
Sinag Maynila 2025 Finalists: Short Films – Students
50/50 (FIFTY/ FIFTY)
Director – Kien Manuntag
An incoming college freshman struggles to choose between his passion for filmmaking and fulfilling his father’s dream of becoming an engineer, while holding two college acceptance letters, he must decide which path will shape his future.
Akin Ang Buhok Ko (My Hair Is Mine)
Director – Luke Salazar
Akin Ang Buhok Ko follows the story of Juan, a 9-year-old kid, who simply wants to keep his long hair against the wishes of the adults around him.
Alimuom (Petrichor)
Director – Yasmin Andrea Chan
A father’s journey through a trial that traps him in a decision to conceal the truth—no matter the cost.
Alingawngaw (Dissonance)
Director – Marco Bravo
An art student struggles with her mental health and inner demons as she races to finish a self-portrait against the ticking clock.
Ang Luha Ay Bahagi Ng Karagatan (Tears Are Part Of The Ocean)
Director – Ryner Viray
In a mental rehabilitation center, a woman, newly turned sixty, with schizoaffective disorder, waits all year for her family to visit on her birthday. But as the day arrives, a typhoon threatens to derail her plans and her sense of reality.
Bisa (Power You Hold)
Directors – Sabrina San Juan & Jan Nicole Nieves
Arm in arm, we will change the course of this world. There will be uprising from the darkness of oppression.
Boi
Director – Luke Del Castillo
A teenage boy named Reggie holds his stepfather at gunpoint while his mother unfold the wicked reason behind it.
Forty-Nine, Fifty
Director – Johnfil Crisjim Nunez
A sick woman clings to a superstition that fallen utensils bring visitors, but only when her picture frame falls do people finally come.
In Case You Miss It
Director – Jadrien Morales
A high school campus journalist navigates his now strained relationship with his best friend after the unauthorized publication of his disapproved article.
Ipon-Ipon
Director – John Rev A. Remo
Nine-year old Jepoy saves coins from playing pogs for a simple picnic that he hopes can mend his broken family.
Kadigaguman (Echo)
Director – Zarrina Fernandez
A 21-year-old man, trapped in a suffocating and abusive relationship with a fanatically religious 60-year-old woman, reaches his breaking point and murders her. Only to find her inexplicably alive and himself reliving the same twisted nightmare.
Lado (Rotten Coconut)
Director – John Rey De La Cruz
Each piece of coconut brings hope that life will grow as sweet as its flesh, but no matter how tough the husk and shell are, in life’s challenges, they eventually wear down (get destroyed) in the end.
Mga Aningal Sa Taguangkan (Echoes From The Womb)
Director – Rovic Lopez
Upon knowing that he impregnated his other girlfriend, Charles suggests to abort the child but fails to convince the woman— pushing him to flee and stay with his grandma in the far-flung countryside of Central Panay. There, he would be seduced by the supernatural— confronting him of the choices he willfully took.
MIK-AP (Make-Up)
Director – Justiny Sayson
Two veteran makeup artists from different worlds are mysteriously united in a dreamlike studio where the living and the dead meet.
Nostalgia
Director – Aries C. Ferrer
A young man preparing to leave home finds a dead body in his house.
Opportunity
Director – Eunice Sy
When an opportunity strikes for the chicken to prove his worth in battle, amidst the world treating him unfairly.
Puhon (Someday)
Director – Lady Princes A. Tero
Ricky and Marcus, cousins from Ormoc, reunite in Manila after years apart. While Marcus is still pursuing his dreams, Ricky hides a painful truth, that he dropped out of college. As the night unfolds, their conversation peels back layers of ambition, failure, and the weight of expectations.
Sa Humba Nimo (Your Humba)
Director – Allen Joshua S. Trinidad
Back once more in the province, Alex and her mother cook the very peculiar but comforting and warm Humba, fondly reminiscing about her grandmother.
Si Balong At Si Doro (Balong And Doro)
Director – Jenser Recosana
A Friendship forced to part ways due to an unexpected turn of events.
Taga-Taga (Praying Mantis)
Director – Trini Archie V. Garcia
A female praying mantis faces a dilemma as she falls for a playful male helping her find a mate. Torn between her growing feelings and their mission, she struggles to decide whether to follow her heart or stick to the plan.
The Night is Alive
Director – Vincent Ibut
Two best friends working late step out for a break, stumbling upon a bizarre scene in an alley—unaware it marks the start of a zombie apocalypse. Armed with wit and their love of zombie films, they navigate the chaos, turning survival into adventure.
Through The Viewfinder
Director – Charlie Garcia Vitug
A photographer with glaucoma documents his life as he goes blind.
Tinigom (Savings)
Director – Keith Nemenzo
In a struggling community, a young girl and her father find hope in a humble thrift can, believing that every coin saved brings them closer to her dream of education.
Una’t Huling Inuman (First And Last Drinking Session)
Director – Dominic Rivera
In a toxic hypermasculine world, a man struggles to keep his secret as he drinks and catches up with his nosy friend group.
Walahanon (Left)
Director – Kristal Kaye C. Tadle
Carlo, a left-handed teenager struggles to break free from his father’s rigid expectations, using his art to express a truth that once tore their family apart.
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The festival’s official finalists feature a diverse array of films. Among the full-length features, there’s the coming-of-age drama Candé, directed by Kevin Pison Piamonte and starring Gian G. Pomperada, JC Santos, and Sunshine Teodoro. The suspenseful horror Jeongbu, helmed by Topel Lee with lead stars Aljur Abrenica, Ritz Azul, and Empress Schuck, also makes the cut. Other notable entries include Madawag Ang Landas Patungong Pag-Asa (The Teacher) directed by Joel Lamangan, Selda Tres (Cell Number 3) by GB Sampedro, and Altar Boy by Serville Poblete.
The documentary category presents titles like Bai by Dimae “Ben” Holzhauer, Embo Between Two Cities by Charles Kirby Fabellon, Mga Bayaning Ayta (Ayta Heroes) by Donnie Sacueza, and Oscar’s Recipe by Giovanni Piolo V. Rayla. Student documentaries include works such as Alon Likha (Waves of Creation), Ballasiwen Ti Pinagbiyag (Across The Divide), and Kaliwa (Kaliwa: The Dam).
In the short film realm, the Open Call lineup features entries like Ang Babayi sa Suba (The Woman From The River), Ang Gadya Sang Suba (The Tale Of The River Monster), Defectives, and Hello, Mr. Jenkins. The student short films include 50/50, Akin Ang Buhok Ko (My Hair Is Mine), Alimuom (Petrichor), and several others that showcase young talent’s storytelling abilities.
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