Shorts – San Diego Filipino Film Festival 2025

Section

Shorts

Absolved

Film Absolved Directed by Malindi Asuncion  When Maria witnesses an accidental family tragedy, she’s told it never happened and must decide what to do...

Adrift

Film Adrift Directed by Alijah Jacob Castillo Buada  An inexperienced astral projector seeks his grandmother’s wisdom after meeting an uncanny woman in a place transcending reality....

Ahon

Film Ahon Directed by Trixie Pacis  In Filipino, “ahon” means to rise, emerge, or break through a surface. Ahon recounts the rise of the...

Anna, Greta, Sophie, and the Rainforest

Film Anna, Greta, Sophie, and the Rainforest Directed by Ida Anita Del Mundo  Three generations of women use technology and memory to bring love and humanity into a desolate, dystopian wasteland....

At Least We Had This Moment

Film At Least We Had This Moment Directed by Joshua de Vera  In his quest to capture the aged architecture of Manila, film photographer Dino seeks the company of a...

Bahay-Bahayan (echoes beyond the horizon)

Film Bahay-Bahayan (echoes beyond the horizon) Directed by Marienne Louise  The Philippines has one of the biggest diaspora of overseas workers in the world. The term Overseas Filipino...

Broken Mosaic

Film Broken Mosaic Directed by Alexandra "Lexie" Orr  In this punk music video, two mixed Asian-American siblings are always the topic of gossip, but they decide...

Deep Space

Film Deep Space Directed by Evan Eslava  Deep Space is a visually poetic animated short that follows a young explorer whose pursuit of a dream...

Delicates

Film Delicates Directed by Ben See-Tho, Kyle Petersen  Colin has hit a new low. Fresh off a breakup, he shuffles through the motions of his life...

Dream Town

Film Dream Town Directed by Jhun Ablaza Monterde  This short feature film explores the complexities of dreams, the enchantment, and its hidden power manifesting through human...

Floating Daisies

Film Floating Daisies Directed by Craig Ienne Pedroza  As grief-stricken Charlie struggles to stay above her own demons, her dear friend Grace must fight to keep...

Gold Fish

Film Gold Fish Directed by Jamie Davis  On a remote island in the Philippines, 2 children search the island in hopes to find Gold which...

Heart and Sol

Film Heart and Sol Directed by Donovan Decano  A Filipino Karaoke bar owner in Berlin navigates the challenges of migration while recounting the extreme amounts of...

I AM A HALO-HALO

Film I AM A HALO-HALO Directed by Daniel Buhat  Ethan, a third culture Filipino and aspiring chef goes back to the Philippines for the first time in...

Kataw

Film Kataw Directed by Alyssa Ashley Cordova Manugas  In a dystopian future where the Philippine archipelago is mostly submerged in seawater, a Mother-doctor, along with other...

Lip Sync Assassin

Film Lip Sync Assassin Directed by Jon Galvez  Sampaguita, a fabulous drag queen moonlights as a hired killer to earn extra money and provide a good...

LOLA

Film LOLA Directed by Carlo Ang  As Flora nears the end of her life, her grandson Carlo investigates her untold stories about surviving WWII...

Mamala and Papalo

Film Mamala and Papalo Directed by Matt Oflas  In preparation for their 50th Wedding Anniversary, a grandson asks his grandparents to tell them what they’ve learned...

Maybe It’s Just the Rain

Film Maybe It’s Just the Rain Directed by Reina Bonta  In their debut at the FIFA World Cup, a diasporic, underdog group of young women become the first...

Misteryo Ng Hapis (Sorrowful Mystery)

Film Misteryo Ng Hapis (Sorrowful Mystery) Directed by Vincent Espeleta Aguilar  Jennifer Silva, a daring journalist, visits Mario de Jesus, a reclusive blood painter who has never made a...

MVP

Film MVP Directed by Getty Reyes  A young MVP swimmer must choose between meeting expectations or following his true passion. Tiger Guzman, a star...

My Mother Said (Kuna Ni Nanang)

Film My Mother Said (Kuna Ni Nanang) Directed by Jessica Sison  In this day and age, when everything is documented and even cell phones have cameras, one woman has...

Opening Films

Program Opening Films  Short films have always been at the heart of SDFFF, bringing filmmakers and audiences together. For our first...

PANORAMA

Film PANORAMA Directed by Aaron Zonio  Lolo Magno, once a celebrated analog photographer, now runs a struggling film processing lab in the midst of...

Puberty for Humans

Film Puberty for Humans Directed by Wester Demandante  Puberty for Humans is perfect for your nervous health class students as they approach their inevitable cybernetic bodily...

Reach Out

Film Reach Out Directed by John Haas  In an intergenerational collaboration between Los Angeles-based electronica/soul trio Bootleg Orchestra and singer Roger Rigor from iconic Filipino...

Real One

Film Real One Directed by Aaron Velasco  A young man must escape a family party with a gun in his waist in order to get...

Sa Sulod Sang Luka-It Nga Gal-Um (Inside An Empty Raincloud)

Film Sa Sulod Sang Luka-It Nga Gal-Um (Inside An Empty Raincloud) Directed by Elvert Bañares  An author of mainstream horror books suffering from an unknown disease experiences a writer’s block. Isolation and frustration...

Sands Street

Film Sands Street Directed by Claro de los Reyes  After an encounter with a policeman, a Filipino steward and a woman welder develop a mutual connection on...

Sandstorm Steel

Film Sandstorm Steel Directed by Nikolas Dela Cruz  Zoren Kozaki was taught to build mechs by his father until his tragic murder, leaving Zoren on his...

Shorts Program I: Finding Elsewhere

Program Shorts Program I: Finding Elsewhere Finding Elsewhere is a compilation of stories that takes us on a fantastical ride of the unknown and...

Shorts Program III: Scenes from Home

Program Shorts Program III: Scenes from Home Scenes from Home takes us to the familiar but often complicated dynamic within our own households or homeland.

Shorts Program IV: Defying Gravity

Program Shorts Program IV: Defying Gravity Exploring the heights of human spirit and imagination.

Shorts Program V: Connect the Dots

Program Shorts Program V: Connect the Dots Where pieces of the story come together, revealing the unseen and the unknown.

Shorts Program II: In Real Time

Program Shorts Program II: In Real Time Ordinary lives captured, extraordinary stories revealed. Illuminating stories that confront today’s world, told from every walk of life.

Sonny

Film Sonny Directed by Rufio Stgeorge  “Sonny” is a short documentary that details the difficult relationship between a second generation American and a Filipino...

Taga

Film Taga Directed by Jill Sachs  Vivi, a third-culture Filipina-American, travels to the Philippines to reconnect with her roots, but falls in with a...

The Strawberries

Film The Strawberries Directed by Nicholas Luciano  After a woman sees a baby eating expensive strawberries, her envy takes the form of a moldy strawberry...

Tomorrow, To Feel

Film Tomorrow, To Feel Directed by Maki Makilan  The fall of capitalism in the late 2040s situates domestic migrants Phil and Wax in the eye of...

Vic and His Nanay

Film Vic and His Nanay Directed by Jillian Janairo  While he’s trapped in his apartment recovering from COVID, an exasperated Vic tries to evade a nosy apparition...

Zenaida

Film Zenaida Directed by San-San Onglatco  Complications arise when an undocumented Filipino-Muslim caregiver who works for an aging diva, secretly borrows her glamorous outfits...