The Film Academy of the Philippines will reveal the country’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category of the 99th Academy Awards on September 4.
The official shortlist of eight Filipino films was announced on June 18 during the national Academy’s press conference.
While only one film will be chosen as representative, the eight films showcase Filipino creators’ talent for storytelling, with their incredibly diverse themes ranging from love, history, identity, justice, and freedom.
The ultimate decision lies in the hands of the National Selection Committee of the Film Academy of the Philippines.
Each contender will be assessed based on their artistic achievement, cultural significance, and their potential to represent Filipino cinema on an international level.
The Philippines has been submitting films for consideration to the Academy Awards since 1956 but has yet to be nominated for the category.
’58th’ by Carl Joseph Papa
’58th’ is an animated docufilm based on the real-life journey of Reynafe Castillo as she seeks to have her father, photojournalist Reynaldo Momay, be recognized as the 58th victim in the Maguindanao Massacre.
The tragic incident shocked the entire nation in 2009 and took the lives of 58 individuals, 32 of whom were journalists.
The film uses a mix of an animation style called rotoscoping and archival material to tell Castillo’s story.
It made an international premiere in January at the Rotterdam Film Festival and was screened at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
It was also conferred the Facing the Edge Award at Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand.
This is Carl Joseph Papa’s second film to be in contention to represent the Philippines at the Oscars.
His 2023 film ‘Iti Mapukpukaw’ (The Missing) was among the contenders for the 96th Academy Awards and eventually became the first-ever Filipino animated film to be submitted for consideration to the prestigious competition.
‘All the Things I Leave You (Patawid)’ by Jade Castro
‘All The Things I Leave You (Patawid)’ is a queer episodic film by Jade Castro about two young men who discover their grandfathers’ decades-old romance while navigating their own budding relationship.
It is the first-ever Boys’ Love (BL) series told fully in Ilocano, a language in the Philippines commonly spoken in the Ilocos Region.
Patawid — meaning “inheritance” in Ilocano — primarily tells the story of Ilocano “sakadas”, who are migrant laborers who left the Philippines in 1906 to work at sugar plantations in Hawaii in hopes of a better life.
The film has had several screenings overseas and was recently shown in Philippine theaters nationwide. It won the Best Episodic Film award at the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival.
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‘Filipiñana’ by Rafael Manuel
Written and directed by Rafael Manuel, ‘Filipiñana’ is a dark comedy drama about Isabel, a teenage girl working at an exclusive country club in the Philippines and, in the process, uncovers the grimmer realities of her colleagues and the people she interacts with.
‘Filipiñana’ is the full-length version of Manuel’s 2020 thesis film of the same name, which examines the social divide plaguing the country.
It made its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it bagged the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.
‘I’mPerfect’ by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo
Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo’s ‘I’mPerfect’ tells the story of two young adults with Down syndrome as they fight for independence and the freedom to pursue love.
The lead roles are played by actors Earl Jonathan Amaba and Anna Krystel Daphne Go, both of whom have Down syndrome.
It premiered at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival and later won Best Picture.
‘Manila’s Finest’ by Raymond Red
‘Manila’s Finest’ is a period crime thriller set in 1969 Manila about a group of local cops investigating a series of killings in their district as a much larger political conflict begins to loom over the entire country.
It also made its theatrical release at the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.
‘Quezon’ by Jerrold Tarog
The 2025 historical film ‘Quezon’ regales the political rise of former Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon.
It is the third and final instalment of Jerrold Tarog’s ‘Bayaniverse’ trilogy, which includes ‘Heneral Luna’ (2015) and ‘Goyo: The Boy General’ (2017). All films are biographical retellings of the country’s famous historical figures.
‘Silenced Nights’ by Lawrence Fajardo
‘Silenced Nights’ follows a man who witnesses an extrajudicial killing and his journey to make the truth known.
It is inspired by the killing of Kian delos Santos, one of the teenage victims of the Philippine drug war in 2017.
The film will have its international premiere and compete at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13. It is set to be screened in Philippine theaters on September 16.
‘Sisa’ by Jun Robles-Lana
Jun Robles-Lana’s ‘Sisa’ is set during the Philippine-American War and centers on Sisa — named after a character in Jose Rizal’s ‘Noli me Tangere’ — a woman who seemingly went insane after seeing the violence caused by American soldiers. Unbeknownst to everyone, Sisa harbors a secret that she plans to use for revenge.
The film premiered internationally at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November 2025 and was later shown in Philippine theaters in March 2026.
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Ren Azrack Escosio 
Wendellyn Mateo