BAKUNAWA FESTIVAL
BAKUNAWA FEST 9
[FANTASTIC FILM + ART + MUSIC] I DECEMBER 16, 2022 to APRIL 2023 I THE PHILIPPINES
UNLEASHING DRAGONS I BENDING GENRES I KEEPING THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT ALIVE
Bakunawa Festival is the first international fantastic & genre-based film, art & music festival in the Philippines; ran by volunteers without corporate sponsors. We're one of the very few festivals that continued online screenings during the pandemic years. We like fresh, new, creative, innovative films, art & music. Bakunawa is a mythical dragon-like creature in Philippine mythology that devoured moons. Because we are a genre-bending film fest, we want to flip the Bakunawa's role and we want it to instead symbolize the creative monsters inside us.
SUBMIT YOUR FILMS to BAKUNAWA FEST X
Unleashing Creative Dragons | Bending Genres | Keeping the Independent Spirit Alive
BAKUNAWA FEST
Before the pandemic, Bakunawa Festival conducts an annual film camp and series of film workshops for young filmmakers that culminates into a film festival of genre films (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, folk, noir, folk, etc). The films that the film camp participants produce compete for the top prize.
We're proud to announce the Philippine Cable TV Premiere of these 9 curated programs of BAKUNAWA FEST 9 Films exclusively for Solarflixph
Feb 19, Sun 8pm (TV Premiere) / Feb 22, Wed 4pm (Afternoon Gala) / Feb 25, Sat 5pm (Replay)
Program 1: ANIMA ::: ► PAPAYA (USA) ► A NIGHT AT THE CEMETERY (GREECE) ► PILLAR OF STRENGTH (MALAYSIA) ► THE SPRAYER (IRAN) / Program 2: DARK CURTAINS ::: ► DANDANSOY (PHILIPPINES) ► THE VERGE (SINGAPORE) ► WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS (ITALY, PERU, SPAIN) ► EQUILIBRIUM (SOUTH AFRICA)
Feb 19, Sun 8pm (TV Premiere) / Feb 22, Wed 4pm (Afternoon Gala) / Feb 25, Sat 5pm (Replay)
Program 3: FANTALUNA :: ► PLANET OF THE GIANTS (JAPAN) ► SA KALAUT SANG KATOBTOBAN (PHILIPPINES) ► WASUREMONO (PHILIPPINES) ► SOULMATE (PHILIPPINES) ► NO STEP BACK (SPAIN) / Program 4: THE NIGHT IS YOUNG ::: ► MOTEL (SPAIN) ► ALL THE FACES I LOVE LOOK ALIKE (BRAZIL) ► LAURA (FRANCE) ► HINAKDAL (PHILIPPINES) ► SONAR (MEXICO)
Feb 26, Sun 8pm (TV Premiere) / Mar 1, Wed 4pm (Afternoon Gala) / Mar 4, Sat 5pm (Replay)
Program 5: FANTAPOCALYPSE ::: ► A YEAR TO BREATHE (Philippines) ► AN SADIT NA PLANETA (Philippines) ► I, LABYRINTH (Philippines) ► HORIZONS (Italy) / Program 6: COLORS OF DRAMA ::: ► THE OLD MAN NEXT DOOR (New Zealand) ► BIRANI (Bangladesh) ► TWO IS ENOUGH (Singapore) ► THE CELL (Singapore) ► Memories in Three Colors (Venezuela)
Mar 4, Sat 7pm (TV Premiere) / Mar 5, Sun 10pm (Late NightGala) / Mar 8, Wed 4pm (Replay)
Program 7: projeXions ::: ► ALEPH (Japan) ► SIMULATION (Republic of Korea) ► KASIKAS SA GANIHA UG UNYA (Philippines) ► L'ECRIVAN AVEUGLE (France) ► THE BAD GUYS IN THE STORY (Spain) ► DEKADENSI (Indonesia) / Program 8 : Excessive Dawn ::: ► LUGINSKY (Japan)
April 2023, Sat 7pm (TV Premiere) / Sun 10pm (Late NightGala) / Wed 4pm (Replay)
Program 9: THE SUMMER WE SAW YOU (Argentina) / BAKUNAWA FEST 9 AWARDS SHOW
Watch the Bakunawa Fest 9 trailer for SolarFlix TV at the left side of this new item.
Where to watch SOLARFLIX?
SKYCable channel 16
Cignal channel 21
Cablelink channel 33
DTT channel 21 in Metro Manila
Check out SolarFlix TV's Facebook Page!
Bakunawa Fest 9 closes its season and kicks off 10th edition on April 26 at UPFI Film Center
After its record-breaking hybrid ninth edition & season (2022-2023) with online screenings, in-person exclusive screenings, multi-media exhibitions, fringe events and Philippine Primetime cable TV premiere, Bakunawa Fest 9 will have its closing ceremonies and screening of winners and closing film at the UPFI Film Center on April 26, 2023 (5 PM). It will also kick off BAKUNAWA FEST X which runs from August 22 to 26, 2023 to be hosted by UPFI Film Center. The news have been announced jointly by Director Elvert Bañares of Bakunawa Fest and Prof. Nonoy Lauzon and Ms. Sinag De Leon of UPFI Film Center.
Mark your calenders and see you on the 26th of next month!
Bakunawa Fest 9 Omnibus Trailer [2022-2023]
Check out the films selected for the ninth edition of Bakunawa Fest for season 2022-2023 with in-person invitation screenings (December 2022); online screenings (December 2022); and Philippine Primetime Cable TV airing at SolarFlix TV (February to April 2023).
You can also check out and subscribe to Bakunawa Fest's YouTube Channel!
Bakunawa Fest 9 announces Board of Jury
Bakunawa Fest announces its Board of Jury for the ninth edition season (2022-2023). Film Critic, Author and Anthropologist Tito Genova Valiente, based in Naga City in Bicol (Luzon), returns to Bakunawa Fest as Chair (he was Chair of the Board of Jury during the 6th edition in 2019). Bakunawa Mentor (since its first year), filmmaker, design activisit and graphic designer, Myish Endonila - who is now based in Basilan (Mindanao) where she works - is our second jury member. And we welcome for the very first time in Bakunawa Fest, filmmaker, actor, visual & tattoo artist, Kyle Fermindoza - based in Iloilo City (Visayas) - as our third jury member.
All three jury members deliberated the winners last March 4, 2023 with Festival Director & Chief Programmer Elvert Bañares and Festival Coordinator Glovern Gerogalin acting as observers. The winners were already informed ahead of the awards show to get their video acceptance speeches. The awards show will be aired at SolarFlix TV after the film 'The Summer We Saw You' by Tomas Roldan which is the Audience Award Winner for Full-length Features.
VIEW THE COMPLETE BIOS OF OUR JURY MEMBERS HERE!
Vietnam's Indigenous H’Mông Film, Pao's Forrest (Khu rừng của Páo), by Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat is Closing Short Film of Bakunawa Fest 9
Bakunawa Fest 9 [season 2022-2023] announces its Closing Film : Pao's Forrest (Khu rừng của Páo) directed by Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat of Vietnam., an indigenous adventure-drama-romance. It is an indigenous film featuring the H’Mông People and has won first prize at Netflix's 'My Vietnam' competition and winner of the Best Short Film Award at the 6th Hanoi International Film Festival 2022. It stars Giang A Pha and Quynh Nhu - both of whom are H’Mông and it features the breathtaking cinematography of Ngo Trung Hieu. Its director is Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat, still a student and currently studying at Hanoi University of Theater and Cinema. Bakunawa Fest - formerly called Bakunawa Young Cinema - is always proud to present films by young filmmakers, choosing films by young or student-filmmakers as its Opening Films ('Sa Punta Sang Balangaw' by Justin Ogapong, 'Ang Lalaking May Regla sa Gitna ng Dagat' by James Fajardo among others). This is the first time though that a Vietnamese film has opened Bakunawa Fest.
After the successful and rather brave airing of the curated programs of Bakunawa Fest 9 at SolarFlix TV which is the final phase of Bakunawa Fest 9's festival run, the closing film will now screen with all winners at the UP Film Center where the local filmmakers will also be awarded.
The Philippines' "The End of Eternity" is Box Office Champion (Shorts) of Bakunawa Fest 9
The homegrown film "Sa Kalaot Sang Katobtoban" (The End of Eternity) directed by Bakunawa Winner and Film Camp alumni, Jael Mathea Tipon, wins Box Office Champion for all of the shorts including music videos. This gives the box office champion back to the Philippines which was won by Indonesia's Tris (Djenar Maesa Ayu) last 2021.
The End of Eternity is the third and last part of the "magic trilogy" that started with "Sa Punta Sang Balangaw" (The Edge of the Rainbow) - one of the Opening Films of Bakunawa Fest 7. "Balangaw" also won the Box Office Champion and the Audience Award in 2020. The second part of the trilogy ranked also high in the box office but failed to reach even half of the views of two Indonesian films last year.
Four other Filipino films are in the top ten, making 2022 as the edition when a majority of Filipino films were watched online compared to the past years/editions. Arden Rod Condez's Dandansoy came in second while Jag Garcia's I, Labyrinth is at number 4 with RS Magtaan's 'the night is drunk when we suffer' and Arvin Belarmino's Hikadal at eighth and tenth respectively. Indonesia's Wong Asu was a strong third and a few shorts that surprised us: 'Water' from South Korea zoomed to number 5 while Singapore's "The Verge" (Zen-Mind FIlm) came in at number 6. Taiwan's 'Part Forever' is at number 7 and Motel (Spain) is in 9th place. Motel is the only non-Asian film/music video to enter the top 10.
Bakunawa Fest is one of the first Filpino Film Fetsivals to go completely online starting in 2020 when everyone else were unsure of how to move forward given the lockdowns and restrictions. This fact is often never mentioned by those who write about film fests and cinema during the pandemic.
Different from the Audience Award wherein voting is involved, The Box Office Champion is based on the analytics from our Bakunawa Video-on-Demand Channel and Wix analytics combined.
"The End of Eternity" will be awarded a Digital Certificate to be given to Director Jael Mathea Tipon and shall be formally announced during Bakunawa Fest 9's Awards Show to be aired on SolarFlix TV in February 2023.
The rest of the films in the top 10 are as follows:
2. Dandansoy (The Philippines) / 3. Wong Asu, Legend of Dogman (Indonesia) / 4. I, Labyrinth (The Philippines)
5. Water (Republic of Korea) / 6. The Verge, Zen-Mind Film (Singapore) / 7. Part Forever (Taiwan)
8. the night is drunk when we suffer (The Philippines) / 9. Motel (Spain) / 10. Hinakdal (The Philippines)
Argentina's "The Summer We Saw You" is Box Office Champion (Full-length) of Bakunawa Fest 9
For the first time in the history of Bakunawa Fest (formerly, Bakunawa Young Cinema), an Argentian full-length feature film wins The Box Office Champion for a full-length film. The film "El Verano Que Te Vimos" (The Summer We Saw You) by Tomás Roldán wins the 2022 Box Office Champion for the 9th edition of Bakunawa Fest.
Different from the Audience Award wherein voting is involved, The Box Office Champion is based on the analytics from our Bakunawa Video-on-Demand Channel and Wix analytics combined.
"The Summer We Saw You" will be awarded a Digital Certificate to be given to Director Tomás Roldán and shall be formally announced during Bakunawa Fest 9's Awards Show to be aired on SolarFlix TV in February 2023.
The rest of the films in the top 10 are as follows:
2. Charo's Song (Japan) / 3. The Protector (Canada) / 4. Kazi (India)
5. The City of Abysses (Brazil) / 6. A Life on the Farm (UK) / 7. Faeryville (Singapore)
8. Opal (France) / 9. Deliverance (Hong Kong) / 10. Inside A Funeral Hall (Republic of Korea)
It's Déjà vu of 2021 : Bakunawa Fest 9's Box Office Champions win Audience Awards too!
Argentina's "The Summer We Saw You" by Tomas Roldan and The Philippines' "The End of Eternity" by Jael Mathea Tipon win Audience Awards for full-length films and shorts/music videos respectively, repeating the back to back win of Djenar Maesa Ayu's "Tris" (Indonesia) in 2021.
After receiving more than 1,800+ votes online and 100+ votes from live invitational screenings, the results are in with "Summer We Saw You" getting 70.3% of the votes and "The End of Eternity" getting 84% of the totalled votes.
Both filmmakers Tomas Roldan and Jael Mathea Tipon will receive Digital Certificates for these feats to be awarded during Bakunawa Fest 9 Awards Night on SolarFlix TV.
Download your complete guide to BAKUNAWA FEST 9, open in Adobe Acrobat to click films you want to watch for FREE! Enjoy!
Festival Director Elvert Bañares introducing Parallax, Wong Asu and Opara with the local homegrown winners of Sine Negrense: Ang Babayi sa Suba, Ang Perya ni Juan, Golden Bells and Sa Kalaut sang Katobtoban.
A gathering of friends, artists and the Bakunawa Fest network. What a huge delight to see you all after two years of not seeing each other in person.
Bakunawa Fest 9 Filmmakers' Send Off (Cinema Rehiyon 15)!
Unleash the creative dragons! T'was a tacos and beer send-off to our Bakunawa Fest filmmakers/delegation to Cinema Rehiyon 15 in Baguio City. Bakunawa meets El Chupacabra in yesterday's casual meet up and send off, celebrating the genre-bending and fantastic films of filmmakers Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romero (Hinakdal), RS Magtaan (the night is drunk when we suffer) and Hanns Sheewe (A Year to Breathe).
Leading the send off was Bakunawa Fest Festival Director and Chief Programmer, Direk Elvert Bañares, who handed out the Bakunawa Fest 9 to Cinema Rehiyon Certificates and the exclusive Bakunawa shirts to our delegates. Cinema Rehiyon is an annual film festival showcase of films from the regions all over The Philippines. This year's host will be Montañosa Film Festival in the cold City of Baguio up north. Bakunawa's delegation will be represented by our Festival Coordinator, Gloven Gerogalin, and one of our jury members this year, Direk Kyle Fermindoza. Cinema Rehiyon runs from March 29-31, 2023.
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