San Diego Filipino Film Festival: Special Edition

San Diego Filipino Film Festival is back for another year with its special edition, celebrating colorful and complex stories that highlight our humanity.

Join us for a night of short films and music videos made by Filipino filmmakers from Manila, Toronto, New York, L.A., San Diego, and beyond! 

As San Diego Filipino Cinema goes on hiatus next year, we'd love to gather once more with our community in this special one night event.

There will be an After Party reception following the screening from 8-11PM. Venue will be given to ticket holders closer to the event. date.

Attire: Dressy casual

Film Lineup:

Take It Easy, Joey by Mateo Jose Ignacio

Joey, a Filipino Canadian fashionista, enters the world of professional wrestling and faces the hardships of getting his “greenlight.”

Daylight by Andrea A. Walter

Recently transformed into a vampire, Allie goes on a night out discovering a new family and acceptance of who she is.

Dreamz by Willa Marj and Leah Lombos

A surreal, ’60s-inspired music video from Indie Neo-Soul artist Willa Marj. After waking from a steamy dream about her coworker Joe, Willa begins seeing him in a completely different light, blurring the line between imagination and reality as she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Usa (Deer) by Matt Oflas

Two childhood best friends fake a pre-wedding photoshoot in the city during their last night together in Cebu City, Philippines.

My Little Bird by Emerson Basco

A reminder that we all feel sad sometimes, and that’s okay.

Embroidered by Emerson Basco

A captivating love story of two girls whose friendship takes an unexpected turn during a spontaneous beach adventure. Starring Ella Jay Basco, Julissa Williams-Mejia, and Maxwell Jenkins.

HIGH & DRY by Jenn Santos

Stranded in the woods with danger closing in, two femmes must confront the men who mistake them for prey and prove they are anything but.

Veterano by Patrick Epino

An aging Filipino World War II veteran with nothing left to lose dusts off his past and his pistol for one last mission in 1981 San Francisco.

Agapito by Arvin Belarmino & Kyla Danelle Romero

In a bygone duckpin alley, a group of pin setters practice a song-and-dance piece as they await the arrival of a special visitor on the last day of the month.

Under the Sun by Ben See-Tho

Royce meets a horse.

OKI OKI OKI by Christian Yamane

After her mother’s sudden death, Oki returns home to inherit the family karaoke bar she doesn’t want. But after performing a mysterious song connected to a murdered pop star, the night takes a supernatural turn.

BRB by H.E.R. and Bianca Catbagan

Shot in Manila, BRB is a lo-fi, collage-like music video for Forgotten Island’s end credits song, featuring H.E.R. and Liza Soberano through a mix of camcorder, Super 8, and digital footage.

Dear Watsonville by Sandra Lucille

Dear Watsonville offers an intimate look at the lives of Filipino manongs in the Pajaro Valley, celebrating their resilience, everyday moments, and the stories carried forward by their children.

RADIKALS by Arvin Belarmino

A rookie in a bizarre chicken-dance group finds himself in trouble after delivering the worst performance of the night. When a heckler calls him out, a series of strange events reveals what happens to the group’s weakest link.