Filipino film 'Ria' bags award at Busan

Filipino filmmaker Arvin Belarmino’s debut feature film Ria won the Heart of Eurasia Award at the 31st Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, marking a major international milestone for the director.

The award was announced on 14 October as part of the festival’s Busan Vision Awards. Ria was among the films featured in Vision–Asia, a section dedicated to independent cinema from across the region.

Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival is one of Asia’s major film festivals. Its 31st edition runs from 6 to 15 October 2026, with films from Asia and around the world screened across its competition and noncompetition programs.

Belarmino has established an international profile through his short films. His work includes Radikals (2024), which competed in Cannes Critics’ Week, and Silig (2024), which screened at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight as part of Directors’ Factory Philippines. Agapito (2025), which he co-directed with Kyla Danelle Romero, was selected for the Cannes Short Film Competition and the Toronto International Film Festival. Belarmino is also an alumnus of La Résidence, the Cannes Film Festival’s program for emerging filmmakers.

A co-production of the Philippines, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Japan, Ria had its world premiere at Busan. The 95-minute drama follows Ria, a folk-punk musician whose community faces eviction, poverty and state violence. Olga, the woman who took Ria in after she was abandoned as an infant, is central to the story. As Olga’s health deteriorates, Ria finds herself caring for the woman who raised her.

The film stars Nour Hooshmand and Sylvia Sanchez.