MORE THAN 60 films will be featured for the return of the Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival in Davao City from Oct. 26 to 30.
The festival will showcase seven feature-length films, 23 short films from different Asian countries, and 34 short films from different Philippine regions.
The homegrown festival is a spotlight of Asian cinema exploring the myriad meanings of “ngilngig”, a Binisaya common expression for fantastic, magical, horrifying, and macabre.
“So mao na siya [ngilngig] murag core sa mga filmmakers or core namo as organizer na para pag curate namo sa mga films,” festival director Bagane Fiola said during the PEP Talks.
Fiola shared that the idea of making films on Ngilngig is not just for horror but to tell compelling stories about the paranormal and fiction with meaningful messages.
He highlighted that Ngilngig is one of the important themes for the Philippine film industry in creating fantasy and horror stories that derive from the country’s culture, history, and folklore.
The festival will be held at Cinematheque Davao and the Green House Cinema while the third venue is still being planned and to be announced.
Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival is organized by the Pasalidahay, Inc. in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, Aputure, Holodeck Productions, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
