Davao opens indie film festival this weekend

The BAI! BAI! BAI! Biennial Film Festival Davao 2026 opens this weekend, offering a two-day, non-competition showcase of Philippine independent cinema with a strong focus on regional storytelling.

Organized by the independent collective Estudio Au Contraire, the grassroots exhibition features more than 50 short films produced between 2000 and 2025. The festival positions itself as a response to ongoing concerns over media censorship and the dominance of commercial “fast-food cinema,” highlighting the resilience of the country’s indie film community.

The event runs from 28 to 29 March at Green House Cinema on Anda Street, with Kyla de Catalina serving as host.

Programming is divided into six curated sections: “Fede Decadente,” “Binisaya? No Wave!,” “Wow Davao!,” “Green Minded,” “Filipina New Wave,” and “Cathedral of Light and Sound.” A film talk on the past and future of regional cinema will feature filmmakers Jason Tan Liwag, Keith Deligero and Jay Rosas.

Nikko Martz, festival chancellor of the BAI! BAI! BAI! Biennial Film Festival Davao, told DAILY TRIBUNE that the event draws inspiration from “the New York Film Festival and the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival,” particularly in its curated, non-competition format.

He said the idea stemmed from access issues: “It’s exhausting and expensive to travel just to attend festivals, especially coming from Davao. We wanted something closer to home.”

Martz added that a single-venue setup was intentional: “Large festivals can be chaotic with multiple venues far apart. A single venue makes it more focused and manageable for audiences.”

He emphasized the festival’s goal: “This is a call to make films more accessible to Mindanao audiences, not just those screened in BGC or Makati.”

On funding, he said: “This is a community event. We are not supported by the local government or the FDCP. We chose to remain independent.”

The festival closes with a special screening of “Baboyngirongbuang” (2010) by Keith Deligero in VHS/CRT format, alongside the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his contributions to regional filmmaking and the Binisaya Film Festival.

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