A history of Filipino filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival

Known as one of the greatest Filipino film directors, Mike De Leon has co-written, directed and produced many films during the Second Golden Age of Philippine Cinema. He was the cinematographer for Brocka’s Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag and had two films screened during the 1982 Cannes Film Festival—Batch ‘81 and Kisapmata. In 2022, a restored version of his 1976 film Itim premiered at the 75th edition of the festival as part of the Cannes Classics section.

The first Filipino filmmaker to win the Best Director award, Brillante Mendoza, made his Cannes debut in 2008 with the film Service, which was nominated for the Palme d’Or category. The following year, he made history with Kinatay. He would continue his hot streak at the festival in 2015 when Taklub was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section and in 2016 when Ma’ Rosa was nominated for the Palme d’Or. So far, he is one of the few filmmakers—and only Filipino—to be nominated in ‘The Big Three’ film festivals: Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

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Seen as a pioneer in modern alternative cinema, Raymond Red made history with his 13-minute short, Anino, when it was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. To this day, he is the first and only Filipino to have won the Short Film Palme d’Or.

The first Filipino filmmaker to be accepted in the Cinéfondation Résidence of the Cannes Film Festival, Raya Martin has directed several feature and short films. In 2009, his works Independencia and Manila starring Piolo Pascual and Alessandra de Rossi were shown in the Un Certain Regard and Special Screenings categories.

Regarded as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement for his films Evolution of a Filipino Family, Melancholia and From What Is Before, among others, Lav Diaz has made a number of the longest narrative films on record and is a critically acclaimed contemporary Filipino filmmaker. In 2013, he would make his Cannes Film Festival debut with Norte, the End of History, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard category. This year, his film Magalhães (Magellan) was selected to be screened at the festival’s premiere.

One of the Philippines’ (and the world’s) most prolific filmmakers, Adolfo Alix Jr, has directed over 30 feature films in 11 years, with more writing credits, short films and television episodes under his belt. He also co-directed Martin’s Manila and would later have his film Death March screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

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A household name in Filipino cinema, Erik Matti is most commonly known for his action and mythological films such as The Aswang Chronicles and BuyBust. In 2013, his film On the Job made its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Camera d’Or and a standing ovation from the audience.

As the co-writer and co-director of the black-and-white short Walay Balay—alongside Malaysian filmmaker Gogularaajan Rajendran—Eve Baswel made her Cannes Film Festival debut in 2024 during the Directors’ Factory. Currently, her other film Tía Madré is available to be viewed on Netflix.

A member of Tarzeer Pictures, Maria Estela Paiso made her first foray into directing in 2021 with her first short Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol. In 2024, she wrote and directed Nightbirds alongside Ashok Vish, which made its way to the Cannes Directors’ Factory.

A filmmaker hailing from La Trinidad, Benguet, Dan Eblahan incorporates his heritage into his films. In 2024, his film Cold Cut—directed alongside Tan Siyou—was screened as part of the Cannes Directors’ Factory, which exclusively starred local talent from Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte.

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A director with a passion for experimental and narrative short films, Arvin Belarmino boasts multiple entries into the Cannes Film Festival. Just last year, two of his shorts were premiered at the festival—Radikals and Silig, with the latter being written by Kyla Danelle Romero. This year, he continues his roaring flame with Agapito, which was done in collaboration with Romero. Belarmino also worked on the screenplay for Ali, directed by Adnan Al Rajeev.

A director, writer and producer from the University of the Philippines, Kyla Danelle Romero frequently collaborates with Belarmino. As the writer for Silig, screenwriter for Ali and co-director for Agapito, she currently has three films to be screened at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Just recently, she proudly announced that her first feature-length film, Giliw, has earned a spot in the Cinéma de Demain, for Focus COPRO' 2025.

A communication arts graduate from Miriam College and a film graduate at the Busan Asian Film School, Kristine de Leon debuts at the Cannes Film Festival as the co-producer of short films Agapito and Ali.

After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Communications, Geia de Vera immediately made her way to the Cannes Film Festival just a year later as the cinematographer for Belarmino’s Radikals. Most recently, she worked on the cinematography for Agapito.

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