The Manila International Film Festival, a Los Angeles-based showcase dedicated to Philippine and diaspora cinema, has unveiled the first wave of films for its 2026 edition, led by an advance screening of DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island,” written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado.
Now in its third year, the festival will run Sept. 3-6 with screenings, filmmaker Q&As and industry panels at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The event will culminate in a Closing Night Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
Festival passes and tickets are on sale at ManilaInternationalFilmFest.com.
“Forgotten Island,” presented three weeks before its Sept. 25 theatrical release, centers on lifelong best friends Jo, voiced by H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano. The characters stumble upon a portal to Nakalimutan, an island populated by the magical and mythological creatures they heard about growing up in Filipino families.
When Jo and Raissa discover that the price of returning home is their memories of their friendship, they race to leave the island before they forget each other.
The voice cast also includes Lea Salonga, who plays The Dreaded Manananggal, along with Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy and Ronny Chieng. The film is distributed by Universal Pictures.
The first 14 titles in the lineup span world premieres, special screenings and premieres in Hollywood and Los Angeles.
Among the world premieres is “Eddie Romero Remastered: A Century of Filipino Cinema,” directed by Chuck Gutierrez and Baby Ruth Villarama. The documentary traces the life and work of National Artist Eddie Romero, whose films range from English-language genre pictures shot in the Philippines to the landmark “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?”
Another world premiere, Neal “Buboy” Tan’s “Kappa-Tiran,” is a thriller set inside the secretive world of fraternities and sororities and their banned hazing traditions. The film features a multigenerational cast that includes Ejay Falcon, Sheryl Cruz, Aljur Abrenica, Patricia Javier, Bembol Roco and young Philippine actors.
“Pinay,” directed by Keesa Ocampo and produced by Christina Luna, chronicles the Bay Area vocal group Pinay, whose work helped usher in a first wave of Asian American contemporary pop music in the 1990s. Ocampo is a two-time Emmy Award-winning television writer, director and producer.
The festival’s Hollywood premieres include “Along Comes Larry: The Larry Ramos Story,” Rick Quan’s documentary on Kauai-born ukulele prodigy Larry Ramos, the first Asian American Grammy winner and the sole non-white member of 1960s groups The New Christy Minstrels and The Association.
“No Room for Love,” directed by Randal Kamradt and Maria Luna Kamradt, follows a Filipino American family of seven sharing one Los Angeles apartment, each chasing an entertainment career.
Jerrold Tarog’s “Quezon,” the third film in his popular “Bayaniverse” trilogy after “Heneral Luna” and “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral,” traces Manuel L. Quezon’s rise to the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth, with Jericho Rosales in the title role. The film has won five 2026 Entertainment Editors’ Choice Awards.
Patrick Epino’s “Veterano,” winner of an Outstanding Performance award at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival, follows Valentino, an aging Filipino World War II veteran played by Jon Jon Briones, as he embarks on one last mission in 1981 San Francisco.
Los Angeles premieres include Raymond Red’s “Manila’s Finest,” a police thriller set against the “First Quarter Storm” in 1970 Manila. The period piece stars Piolo Pascual, Enrique Gil and Cedrick Juan, and has drawn praise for its subject matter, storytelling, performances and cinematography.
Benito Bautista’s “The Road to Sydney” follows Philippine dance master and choreographer Sydney Loyola from Palawan to the San Francisco Bay Area as she transitions, loses her job and housing, and returns home to reclaim her work and reconcile with her father.
A newly remastered edition of “Bebot: Generation One,” the Black Eyed Peas music video directed by Patricio Ginelsa, will be presented for its 20th anniversary.
MIFF will also present a two-film retrospective for Lea Salonga, this year’s MIFF Icon Award recipient.
The festival will screen Olivia Lamasan’s 1995 romantic drama “Sana Maulit Muli,” starring Salonga and Aga Muhlach, and “The Vale: Origins,” Abigail Hing Wen’s hybrid live-action and animated short that serves as a prequel to her middle-grade novel “The Vale.”
Salonga, a Tony and Olivier Award winner, has been nominated by MIFF for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Live Theatre/Live Performance category and will become the first Filipina to receive the honor later this year.
MIFF recently celebrated Nicole Scherzinger’s selection to the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2027 in the same category. Scherzinger, nominated by MIFF, thanked the festival and highlighted her Filipino heritage in a video message, saying, “Here’s to Pinay power.”
Executive producer Lisa Lew said the first wave reflects “the breadth of Filipino filmmaking today, from a major studio film inspired by Philippine folklore to independent features and documentaries exploring our history, identity and communities.”
Producer Winston Emano added that MIFF is distinguished by the way audiences “meet the filmmakers and casts, hear the stories behind the work and take part in a larger celebration of our creative community.”
Festival passes for MIFF films and industry panels at the TCL Chinese Theatre are available now, while tickets for the Closing Night Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton, including early bird offers through Aug. 16, are sold separately.
Additional films, programming and guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
