ReelRadical

From international to local film festivals, mainstream and independent projects, documentaries and student shorts, exciting talents in animation and experimental works, hidden gems and emerging voices, classics rereleased and restored... This is Philippine Cinema in 2025.

Letterboxd list of the complete PelikuLGBTQ+ 2026 lineup: boxd.it/UUqrk

Local queer short films will screen for free as part of PelikuLGBTQ+ 2026 by Bahaghari UP Diliman at the UP Film Center Videotheque from June 9-10.

Letterboxd list of the complete Pelikulaya 2026 lineup: boxd.it/UUbpe

Perslab (2025) Yelo (2025) Two Black Boys in Paradise (2025) - United Kingdom Mom, If I were a Vampire (2022) - Taiwan

Queer short films will screen for free at FDCP's Pelikulaya 2026 across Cinematheque Centres nationwide from June 5 to July 4. Si Kara: Ang Babaye Nga Nag Daba-daba (2025) Somewhere all the boys are birds (2023) At Least We Had This Moment (2025) Honey, My Love, So Sweet (2025)

This coming Pride Month, Open Endings (2025) screens in cinemas nationwide, while Dreamboi (2025) marks its international premiere at San Francisco's Frameline50 alongside the restored Macho Dancer (1988) & 10s Across the Borders (2025) featuring local ballroom icon Xyza Mizrahi.

10s Across the Borders, directed by Chan Sze-Wei with Alemberg Ang as one of its producers, will screen at select local cinemas from June 17-31. The documentary follows the underground ballroom scenes in Southeast Asia and features Philippine ballroom icon, Mother Xyza Mizrahi.

The digitally restored and remastered Muro-Ami (1999), helmed by director Marilou Diaz-Abaya and writers Ricky Lee & Jun Robles Lana, screens in select local cinemas this June. Muro-Ami depicts the exploitation of child labor in the eponymous destructive fishing practice.

Programmed under "From Seeds Sown by a Movement," the lineup includes: Turumba (1983) Sabangan (1983) Yuta: The Earth Art of Julie Lluch (1991) Red Saga (2004) Kapag nagwala ang kalabaw (2025)

The Mowelfund Film Institute will hold monthly screenings dedicated to alternative cinema in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Independent Film and Video Festival. Kidlat Tahimik's Turumba (1983) will kickstart the program this May 29 at Mowelfund's Dengcar Theater.

Expanding their 2024 short, the documentary will follow "aging activists with fading memories, a submerged community refusing to sink, a groundbreaking union strike, and a fragile archive revived—all fighting to preserve a movement that risked everything for the Filipino people."

Invisible Labor, directed by Joanne Cesario & produced by Alyssa Suico, is one of 16 selected projects for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) Project Space 2026. IDFA's program helps projects with mentorship, artistic exchange & in-depth collaboration.

While the classics of Philippine cinema are often the most visible as the entry point of international audiences, contemporary Filipino films are also worth checking out. Cleaners (2019) Tumandok (2024) Leonor Will Never Die (2022) Cinemartyrs (2025)

Panangarem (Courting), an Ilocano short directed by Kyla Danelle Romero and produced by Fea Fortuna, will benefit from €5000 in post-production support from TransPerfect as chosen by the audience after its presentation at Focus WiP at #Cannes2026.

Under the Short Film Corner | Rendez-vous Industry, Focus WiP (Work-in-Progress) is dedicated to presenting shorts in production and post-production to key players in the industry. Recently, the short also received support from the Momo Distribution Grant.

Panangarem (Courting), directed by Kyla Danelle Romero & produced by Fea Fortuna, is one of five selected projects for Focus WiP at #Cannes2026 The Ilocano short follows the ghost of a man awakened by a cemetery demolition on New Year's Eve, longing to see his wife & daughter.

According to Leo P. Katigbak, the 4K restoration of Lino Brocka's Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974) is being planned for local release in the second half of 2026.

The restoration was made possible by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Philippine Film Archives, Carlotta Films, and Janus Films – The Criterion Collection at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory using scanned prints from the BFI National Archive.

The 4K restoration of Lino Brocka's Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974) premieres at the 40th edition of the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival this coming June, marking its first time to be officially released outside the Philippines. It is programmed under the Cinemalibero section.

I hope Filipino cinephiles become more critical of what the local film "industry" is churning out. Ask yourselves who are the people behind these productions and to extend that inquiry, what type of studios and institutions fund these films.

Raya Martin making a feature film comeback, but at what cost? We ought to interrogate who gets to make these films tackling such themes and the names tied to these productions. Because when you look at their politics & track record, it all screams just exploitative, really.