Sagay City’s Margaha Film Festival

21/06/2026

From the shores of Sagay to the wider Negros Island Region, another Margaha film continues its journey.

Congratulations to the team behind "Ang Babaye sa Bubon" for winning Best Film – Open Category at the 2025 Sine Negrense: Negros Island Region Film Festival.

First showcased during the 6th Margaha Film Festival, the film also earned recognition for Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Sound Design, alongside several nominations in major categories in SineNegrense

It was produced by Sagay National High School, DepEd Sagay City, and the SPA Media Arts Program with the support of Anggulo Community, and funded by City Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva.

We are proud to see a former Margaha winner continue its journey and receive recognition beyond our festival.

We also Congratulate the team of "Kabay Pa", which was also part of the 2025 SineMargaha Sagaynon Shorts Competition for winning Best Musical Score and Best Trailer in SineNegrense.

Congratulations to the entire cast, crew, and production team! Padayon!

30/04/2026

Sound check.
Mic check.

Is this 8?

30/04/2026

From Jermaine Tulbo

My thesis film A Crab From A Conch Shell is free to watch in my own cut (not the festival cut). This is my personal initiative to help raise funds for my upcoming project, Miagi ang mga bulan, siya mihilom, for its production. If you would like to support and donate, you may do so by purchasing my artworks through this link: https://forms.gle/dbGDMe8oegyQ1DDj9 🫶🏽

A Crab From A Conch Shell | Short Film

30/03/2026

Panginbulahan!

“Paon,” directed by Seb Valdez, wins Best Short Film (Open Category) at Sinag Maynila 2026.

From Margaha to the national stage—congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.

The Margaha Film Festival Organizing Committee and the City Government of Sagay are proud of your feat.

Padayon.

28/03/2026

JUST IN. Seb Valdez’ short film “Paon” is Sinag Maynila 2026 Best Short Film in the open category!

Congratulations to Direk Seb and team!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1LAWbVs7Fd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

27/03/2026

SineMargaha’s first Best Short Film “Paon” is competing in this year’s Sinag Maynila!

We congratulate Direk Seb Valdez and team for this feat.

From Sinag Maynila post: 𝗣𝗮𝗼𝗻 | Bait
SET H
Directed by: Seb Valdez
Written by: Seb Valdez & Geli Arceño
Produced by: Seb Valdez

Andoy, 32, who lives near the Himoga-an River, fishes there daily for food despite reports of people going missing.

Sinag Maynila 2026 will be screened in theaters this March 23-29, 2026 at Gateway, Eastwood Cinemas, Uptown Cinemas, Venice Cineplex, and Lucky Chinatown Cinemas.

𝗣𝗮𝗼𝗻 | Bait
SET H
Directed by: Seb Valdez
Written by: Seb Valdez & Geli Arceño
Produced by: Seb Valdez

Andoy, 32, who lives near the Himoga-an River, fishes there daily for food despite reports of people going missing.

Sinag Maynila 2026 will be screened in theaters this March 23-29, 2026 at Gateway, Eastwood Cinemas, Uptown Cinemas, Venice Cineplex, and Lucky Chinatown Cinemas.

27/03/2026

Margaha Juror Chai Fonacier is featured in Rolling Stone Philippines.

06/03/2026

PHILIPPINE CINEMA IS A CHORUS OF MANY REGIONS. We are grateful to read reflections like this from Sir Tito Genova Valiente that remind us why regional film festivals matter.

For many years, Philippine cinema was often seen through a single center. But as regional festivals slowly emerged, audiences began encountering languages, rituals, and ways of life that had long existed outside the mainstream. As the column beautifully notes, these films allowed Filipinos to discover “hitherto unheard languages and idiolects” and to encounter cultures that had lived in the margins but were finally being visualized for new audiences.

This is exactly the spirit that guides Sagay City’s Margaha Film Festival. Every film screened in Margaha carries a piece of place, like its language, its humor, its grief, its traditions, and its imagination. When these stories travel beyond their towns and islands, they remind us that Philippine cinema is not a single voice but a chorus of many regions.

We are honored to be part of this continuing shift where communities tell their own stories and where audiences learn to listen. Sometimes through subtitles, always through empathy.

FROM the recently held Margaha Film Festival, two unforgettable entries were from the category “Philippine Shorts,” as differentiated against the Sagaynon Shorts. The former used to be categorized as an “open division” and was created to enable filmmakers from other regions to join as well a...