Seven Filipino films featured at Asian Film Festival Barcelona 2026
BARCELONA, Spain — Seven Filipino films are featured in this year's Asian Film Festival Barcelona (AFFBCN), which opened its 14th edition on October 22 at CaixaForum Barcelona.
Organized by Casa Asia, the festival runs until November 1, with more than 100 films from 25 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
India takes center stage this year, with a special Focus India programme featuring 24 films, coinciding with the Spain-India Dual Year 2026. The festival opened with If on a Winter's Night, directed by Indian filmmaker Sanju Surendran, who was present to introduce his film.
Festival director Menene Gras Balaguer hopes to attract more audiences to Asian cinema, saying, “We are committed to cinema that brings us closer to the cultural diversity of Asia and invites us to understand the world from other perspectives.”
The seven Philippine entries are Edjop by Katski Flores, Cinemartyrs by Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena, Desperada by Louie Ignacio, Greatest Performance by Joselito Altarejos, Silenced Nights by Lawrence Fajardo, Moonglow, and I Grew an Inch.
Silenced Nights, which was also featured at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, is included in AFFBCN's Les nostres preferides (Our Favorites) selection. Meanwhile, Greatest Performance by Joselito Altarejos will have its world premiere at the Barcelona festival.
Two Philippine films will also have guests attending their screenings. Director Katski Flores and Joyette Jopson, daughter of the late Filipino activist Edgar Jopson, will be in Barcelona for Edjop, while director Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena will present Cinemartyrs.
Members of the Filipino community in Barcelona were also present at the opening ceremony, showing their support and looking forward to watching this year's Philippine entries.
Filipino journalist Sandra Sotelo Aboy is also serving as a member of the NETPAC jury this year. She has been part of the AFFBCN jury for several editions, marking continued Filipino participation in the festival beyond the film screenings.
