Oroquieta film fest opens doors for regional filmmakers
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/9 June 2026)— As filmmakers outside Metro Manila continue to seek spaces to screen their work, regional film festivals are increasingly serving as alternative platforms for stories rooted in local communities, languages, and experiences.
One such platform is the Oroquieta Film Festival (OFF), which recently opened submissions for the Lumayagan Shorts competition, inviting filmmakers from Mindanao and the Visayas to submit entries until July 14.
Now on its sixth edition, the festival continues its focus on regional storytelling and independent cinema from southern and central Philippines.
The Lumayagan Shorts competition takes its name from the lumayagan, or purpleback flying squid, a species abundant in the coastal waters of Misamis Occidental.
“The Lumayagan is known for its rapid, flying leaps,” the festival said in its call for entries, likening the squid’s movement to filmmakers who “leap beyond traditional boundaries” while remaining grounded in the cultures and experiences of the regions they represent.
Regional film festivals have become an important part of the country’s independent film landscape, particularly for filmmakers working outside traditional industry centers. While national festivals and commercial cinemas remain concentrated in Metro Manila, regional festivals often provide opportunities for emerging filmmakers to screen their work closer to home and to audiences who share the same linguistic and cultural contexts as those represented on screen.
In recent years, local film initiatives across Mindanao have contributed to the growing visibility of regional cinema. Festivals, community screenings, and independent film programs have helped create spaces for stories told in Cebuano, Meranaw, Hiligaynon, and Chavacano, among an array of Philippine languages less commonly represented in mainstream productions.
Amid a growing network of regional film events, the Oroquieta Film Festival emerges, seeking to highlight local perspectives while encouraging dialogue among filmmakers from different parts of the country.
According to organizers, the competition seeks films that are “dynamic, culturally rooted, and striking,” reflecting the competition’s dedication to “showcasing the vibrant and diverse voices of Mindanao and Visayas filmmaking.”
The festival will be held in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, from October 12 to 14. Interested filmmakers from Mindanao and the Visayas may submit entries through the festival’s online application portal until July 14. (Bea Gatmaytan/MindaNews)
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