THIS year’s edition of the Davao Ngilngig Festival will feature a smorgasbord of 50 short horror tales in various forms – from narrative to experimental, animation to performance art, science fiction to mockumentary – from all over the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The festival will be from October 26-30, with opening film Balangiga: Howling Wilderness.
This year’s festival boasts of an expanded vision of the horror genre catering to adventurous storytelling and filmmaking. Nine (9) short films are included in the competition section, while around 40 films are lined up in various exhibition sections.
Here are the synopses of the short films in competition:
Si Lola Marit kag si Toto Tisoy by Poli Gonzalez (Silay)
A group of filmmakers were tasked to film a local folk healer.
Drimsikol by Tyl Abellaneda (Cebu)
Jennieh, troubled by a recurring nightmare, visits a dream shop to alter her dreams.
3021 by Edmund Telmo (Ozamiz)
Holokaustus has killed all but one untouchable, who is left alone in a hardly habitable planet after the post-truth wars. Attempting to teleport himself to other planets, he encounters a fugitive scientist who happens to be the one who preserved him.
Wala'y Humayan Sa Tanglad by Neil Angelo Briones (Cebu)
A documentary film crew follow Aster Salvacion, the owner of a rice farm like no other—one that yields unusually fragrant rice in the fastest of harvest times. An old sacred rice grain that’s already extinct from the highest peak mountains of Mount Tanglad.
Buros si Lucia Joaquin, nga Anak ni Maria Labo by Nef Luczon (Cagayan de Oro)
A man hooks up with a woman some years ago. When they meet again, he hopes that it can grow more than just being a one-night stand.
Wa’y Tulganay by Tracy Nicolette Tang (Cebu)
A girl finds herself in a hellish limbo between sleep and reality.
Puppy Love (Nung Nawala Ang Aso Ko) by Margarita Mina
A young girl’s dog escapes and leaves her with an open wound in her vagina. Devastated by her pet’s disappearance and her own body’s condition, she digs deep into her own flowery crevices to understand—clawing and howling.
Ka Gwapa Bah by Christian Paul Naparota and Chloe Capatoy
A girl desperately wanting to be beatiful comes across a makeover that will forever change her life.
Mata-mata by Felix Serrano
A gamer becomes addicted to a suggested game from his best friend. But getting hooked means turning into somebody else.
Exhibition film sections will feature familiar jump scares, mystery tales and experimental short films. Award-winning and nominated short films from other festivals will also be part of the festival including Gawad Urian 2018 Best Short Film Gikan sa Ngitngit nga Kailadman (From the Dark Depths) by Kiri Dalena, QCinema International Film Festival Best Short Film Hondo by Aedrian Araojo from Zamboanga City, as well as short films from Singapore and Indonesia.
The full-length films will open with acclaimed short films like Cebuano filmmaker Keith Deligero’s Babylon, which was in competition during the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival and Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month, which was screened last year as part of Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week.
The Davao Ngilngig Festival 2018 is organized by Pasalidahay with Balud Art Network, Global Shapers Community Davao, Micromedia Digital Video Productions, Origane Films, Pinoy Movie Blog, Swito Social Innovation Hub, The Panagtagbo, Timewrap Film Productions, and in partnership with Midtown Printing Co., Inc., Cinedashery East / Midtown Films. The Festival is also sponsored by Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Malagos Garden Resort, and State of Mind Productions (Major), Green Windows Dorm and Hotel, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and Sunstar Davao.
For more information about the films, schedule and ticket reservations, please visit www.davaongilngigfilms.com.