NGILNGIG Asian Fantastic Film Festival brings a lineup of 56 short films and five featured thrillers and “Retrograde” themes from the Philippines and other countries at the Cinematheque Center Davao from Oct. 25 to 29.
This year’s ninth edition, featuring short films with a mix of genres, will compete for the “Best Ngilngig Philippine shorts” and “Best Ngilngig shorts” awards. Of the 56 films, 29 are from Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Brunei, Cambodia, and other countries.
The festival will premiere five featured full-length films from the Philippines, Bhutan, Japan, and Indonesia in Davao City for the first time. Among the five films, two are from the Philippines that will debut in Davao for locals to see and enjoy.
Moneyslapper (2024), directed by Bor Ocampo, comes to the festival on the first day in the evening. A movie of drama and thriller, the story follows a young man named Daniel (played by John Lloyd Cruz) who abandons his country after winning a large cash prize.
Festival director Bagane Fiola shared in an interview that young filmmakers in Mindanao are very prolific since they can produce films without funding. He also hopes that filmmaking will be more collaborative, where the film community, companies, and LGUs can work hand in hand in the future.
Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival is organized by Pasalidahay, in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and sponsored by Three Yards, Micromedia Productions, Timewrap Film Productions, and Holodeck Productions.
The event began in 2013 with a group of filmmakers and peaked in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival continued its online screenings and is slowly gaining traction.
