‘58th’ wins at Manila International Film Festival

GMA’s animated documentary 58th is adding more hardware to its growing collection, taking home three awards at the 3rd Manila International Film Festival in Hollywood.

The film was named Best Picture Documentary, while director Carl Joseph Papa received the Best Director honor. The festival also gave its special Shining A Light award to Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay’s daughter, Reynafe Castillo, recognizing her contribution to the film and her commitment to keeping her father’s story alive.

Produced by GMA Pictures and GMA Public Affairs, 58th revisits the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, the deadliest attack on journalists recorded in history. Rather than presenting the tragedy solely through conventional documentary footage, the film blends animation with archival material to reconstruct the story of Momay, whose remains were never recovered.

His absence became central to the film’s story. Although 57 victims were officially identified in the massacre, Momay’s family has continued to seek recognition for him as the 58th victim.

The film stars Glaiza de Castro, with Mikoy Morales, Marco Masa, Zyren Dela Cruz and Biboy Ramirez. It also carries the distinction of being the final film appearance of the late Ricky Davao, who played Momay.

GMA Public Affairs Senior Assistant Vice President for Documentaries Johnson Tam and Program Manager Ian Simbulan served as producers.

The film had its world premiere at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam, marking the first time a GMA-produced film was presented at the prestigious event. It subsequently landed among the festival’s Top 10 Audience Choice Films.

It also made history at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, where it competed in the Contrechamp Feature Films category as the first GMA Network film selected for the renowned animation showcase.

The film later received recognition at the 2026 Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand and made its Philippine premiere at the 2026 Cinemalaya Film Festival in August.

58th is scheduled to screen at the 31st Busan International Film Festival in October, continuing its journey across some of the world’s major film gatherings.

Back home, the film has also entered the conversation for the Philippines’ official Oscar submission, having been shortlisted among the contenders for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.