NGILNGIG FEATURES (Feature-Film Showcase)
Life is a cycle of birth, growth, change, decay, and return. Ngilngig Features 2026 brings together five films that explore this through their fantastic stories: two brothers confronting grief and inherited guilt after their father’s murder; a lonely man finding companionship with a stranded alien; a businessman who turns to the occult to preserve his fortune; a young woman drawn into a supernatural curse; and a daughter returning home to confront her family’s grief and buried secrets.
Across different worlds and experiences, these films ask how we adapt to what changes us, what we inherit, and what we cannot control.
- i grew an inch when my father died by P.R. Monencillo Patindol PHILIPPINES [Opening]
- Sasyq (Stinker) by Yerden Telemissov KAZAKHSTAN
- Antithesis of Gemini (Quỷ Tha Ma Bắt: Thai Chiêu Tài) by Trần Nhân Kiên, VIET NAM
- The Curse (ザ・カース (Za Kāsu) by Kenichi Ugana JAPAN/TAIWAN
- The Mothering (Mag-iina) by Giancarlo Abrahan PHILIPPINES [Closing]
THIRD EYE (Shorts in Competition)
Ngilngig Third Eye is the core competition of the festival, bringing together daring and imaginative works from the Philippines and across Asia. These films compete for Ngilngig’s highest honors while challenging audiences with sharp, uncompromising, and distinctly fantastic works.
Asian Third Eye
- Ali (Алі) by Adnan Al Rajeev BANGLADESH / PHILIPPINES / INDIA
- Boiling Point by Ze Ying CHINA
- Rotten Pleasure (Bangkai Nafsu) by Azzam Fi Rullah, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- A Gentle Breeze by Lin Htet Aung MYANMAR
- I’ll Leave You Words by Anwar Johari Ho MALAYSIA / SOUTH KOREA
- Southwest Corner by Zachary Yap SINGAPORE
- The Debtor’s Mother by Lê Thiện Trung HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM
- Hyena by Altay Ulan Yang CHINA / USA
- A Very Straight Neck by Neo Sora JAPAN
- Arcade by Seo Won-cheol SOUTH KOREA
Philippine Third Eye
- Bandage Poetry by Ian Alfaras BUTUAN CITY
- Ice (Yelo) by Gab Rosique DAVAO CITY / QUEZON CITY
- It Feels Really Good to **** in the Mansion (Manami guid man mag **** sa Mansion) by Seb Valdez and Trini Garcia SAGAY CITY
- Memorare by Pia Velonza QUEZON CITY
- Out of Eden (Ako Ay May Lobo) by Siege Ledesma MARIKINA CITY
- Pretend You’re My Girlfriend by Ylac Provido DAVAO CITY
- The Embalmer, the Madman, and the Corpse (Ang Embalsamador, Baliw, at Bangkay) by Jasper Tan QUEZON CITY
- The Skies are Weeping (Lumuluha ang Langit) by Jean Louise Javier SAN JUAN, BATANGAS
- The Vanishing Fireflies by JP Corton TABANGO, LEYTE
- Veiled (Nagmanto) by Melver Ritz L. Gomez ILOCOS NORTE
VISIONS (Non-Competition Special Showcase)
Ngilngig Visions is a curated space for films that carry bold artistic choices and emerging perspectives. Though outside the juried competition, these works are selected for their ability to expand the language of the fantastic and contribute to the spirit of discovery that defines Ngilngig.
Asian Visions
- A Metamorphosis (အသွင်ပြောင်းလဲမှုတစ်ခု) by Lin Htet Aung MYANMAR
- Bleeding Summer (염하) by Jeemin Baik SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Multo by Coleman Weimer PHILIPPINES / USA
- Our Mother Mary by Matthew Gunawan & Ollie Wang SINGAPORE / USA
- The Betta Fish (Umpan) by Nelson Lau MALAYSIA
- The Wanderer by Gwai Lou MALAYSIA
- We Will Follow The Wind by Demon Wong CHINA
Philippine Visions
- All my Friends are Static by Migo Matas TAYTAY, RIZAL
- Cockroach (Ipith) by Jay Borilla QUEZON CITY
- Garlic (Ahos) by Isabella Villarojo CEBU CITY
- Hey, Hey, Take Care! (Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!) by Norvin de los Santos QUEZON CITY
- Kara: The Burning Woman (Si Kara: Ang Babaye nga Nagdaba-daba) by Dale Gugudan BACOLOD CITY
- Lip Sync Assassin by Jon Galvez MANILA CITY
- Memories don’t end in disappearance (Hindi Nawawala sa Pagkawala ang mga Alaala) by Emmanuel Pamaylaon NABUNTURAN
- Spirit Ally (Surog) by Joel Escobar MIAGAO
- The Nest Above the Watchtower (Ang Pugad sa Ibabaw kang Bantayan) by Mark Joseph Perez GUIMBAL
- Urban Jungle (Aspaltong Lasang) by Xander Delola DAVAO CITY
DIMENSIONS (Exhibition Shorts)
Ngilngig Dimensions expands the festival’s evolving definition of ngilngig, bringing together works that offer different ways of encountering the fantastic. From accessible genre films to works that push at the edges of the festival’s usual programming, the section creates room for different approaches to genre, storytelling, and presentation, with selected works also opening possibilities for alternative forms of exhibition beyond the traditional cinema screen.
Dimensions
- A Soil A Culture A River A People by Viv Li CHINA / BELGIUM / GERMANY
- End of Beginning by JD Velasco CITY OF GENERAL TRIAS
- Everyone Like… (Semua Orang Suka) by Kent Tan MALAYSIA
- Fin by Ward Kayyal PALESTINE
- Kentucky Gaza (كنتاكي غزة) by Omar Rammal JORDAN
- Lost (Kasaag) by Jay-R Salazar CEBU CITY
- Monkey by Aries C. Ferrer NUEVA VIZCAYA / QUIRINO / METRO MANILA
- Night Ticket Seller (សំបុត្រកុនវេនយប់) by Peter Chan PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
- Nothing to report (특이사항 없음) by Chehong Park SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Once Upon a Mango Tree (আম গাছের বাসিন্দা) by Sambit Dattachaudhuri KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA
- Shroud Ghost (Lutao) by Michael Compoc PANABO CITY
- The Old Man and The Grave by Prabhat Gurung NEPAL / SOUTH KOREA
- The Water Fairy (Memori Air) by Imam Syafi’i KLATEN, CENTRAL JAVA, INDONESIA
