San Diego Filipino Film Festival delivers diverse storytelling

Photo from San Diego Filipino Cinema/Facebook

A platform for Filipinos and Filipino Americans to showcase their unique stories, San Diego Filipino Film Festival (SDFFF) returns this weekend with a diverse film lineup.

Marking its fourth year, the festival offers an impressive array of films that reflect Filipino filmmakers’ creative brilliance. It runs until Oct. 6 at the AMC Theatre Plaza Bonita in National City. 

Celebrating Filipino American History Month, SDFFF this year features six feature films and over 50 short films.

Kicking off the festival is the film, “When This is All Over.” With the pandemic as its backdrop, the film explores the stark social divide in the Philippines.

Concluding the festival on Sunday is Gomburza, a historical film that portrays the story of three Filipino martyr priests who became instrumental in inspiring Filipinos to fight for independence during the Spanish colonial era.

San Diego Filipino Film Festival co-founder Benito Bautista told KBPS, “In the Philippines, we were colonized by the Spanish and they used Christianity to colonize us.” 

This year’s festival also features Quark Henares’ “Marupok AF (Where is the Lie),” an LGBTQ+ meta-edgy romcom about a trans woman who experiences the horrors of online dating.

You may also like: New ‘GomBurZa’ movie set to honor the 3 martyred priests in Philippine history

Highlighting emerging Filipino filmmakers

Known for highlighting emerging filmmakers, this year’s festival also offers short films with cutting-edge storytelling.

 Jonathan De Guzman’s “Best Friends” tells the story of two best friends who confront each other about their relationship and vaping addiction.

Luke Lace’s “Fidel” presents a deeply emotional narrative about a teenager who became the caregiver of his abusive grandmother and ended up being mistaken for her newlywed husband.

Marissa Roxas’ “You + Me” is a reimagined love story from a queer woman’s perspective.

Celebrating Filipino culture

The co-founders of the San Diego Filipino Film Festival, Emma Francisco and Benito Bautista, launched the festival with a clear goal: to celebrate and empower Filipino voices in the film industry.

Since it was launched in 2021, SDFFF has gone a long way, offering not just cinematic experience but also a community event that brings people together. 

 “We started with just one film with food to see if the community will react, and they reacted in a positive way,” Bautista recalls.

This year’s event will feature panel discussions with Fil-Am animators from Disney, Pixar and Netflix. 

Company presentations from SIKAP’s AYO and EdukSine will present opportunities for learning and collaboration within the Filipino film community. 

Panelists and exhibitors will have the opportunity to make connections at the SDFFF Jury Awards and Filmmakers Night.

Tickets are available here.