Negros Occidental filmmakers compete at 6th Oroquieta Film Festival

Bacolod City- Regional cinema continues to break geographical boundaries, and this year, stories from Negros Occidental are making a distinct mark. As Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental hosts the 6th Oroquieta Film Festival from October 12 to 15, audiences will gather to experience 28 independent films selected from across Visayas and Mindanao.

This year’s Lumayagan Shorts Competition includes three entries representing the creative depth and social consciousness of Negrense filmmakers. These are “Manami Guid Man Mag **** sa Mansion,” “Sa Duta sang Kabuhi” (In the Soil of Life), and “Those Little Things.”

“Manami Guid Man Mag **** sa Mansion,” co-directed by Seb Valdez and Trini Garcia, was previously selected as part of the Sagaynon Shorts Competition at Sagay City’s 7th Margaha Film Festival, where it won Best Production Design and Best Original Song.

Meanwhile, “Sa Duta Sang Kabuhi” by Steve Villasor stands out as an urgent commentary on the social and environmental realities facing the “sugar bowl of the Philippines.” Produced by a crew of 23 Technological University of the Philippines Visayas students under the advisory of Shallel Billones, the documentary explores how centuries of monocropping and unsustainable agricultural practices have left Negros island’s soil exhausted.

Through a blend of interviews with farmers, local communities, and agricultural scientists, the film examines the tension between traditional farming methods and modern ecological solutions.

“Qualifying for this competition truly made us happy because our film will be seen in Oroquieta. It will reach new people, and hopefully, it will touch their hearts and open their eyes to the challenges the farming industry faces today,” Villasor shared.

“As much as I grew to love farming while we were making this film, I want that same love to reach our audience and inspire them to care and hopefully do something about it. I also hope that ‘Sa Duta sang Kabuhi’ will continue to be accepted into other film festivals because that has always been our goal from the beginning. We want to reach as many audiences as possible and share this story,” he added.

Villasor is an electrical engineering graduate who started making films as a production assistant in 2019. His first film “Kakanin” (Tam-is Ukon Parat?) won Best Short Film at CineTUPV 2025.

The documentary brings an impressive track record to Oroquieta, after being officially as one of the finalists out of 120 submissions in the 9th DOST-SEI Indie-Siyensya Film Competition, where it also picked up a Best Cinematography award.

Taking a drastic leap in genre, “Those Little Things” brings a futuristic, cyberpunk lens to local Negrense storytelling. Set in the year 2222 within a high-tech version of Bacolod City, the film centers on a teenager navigating an ordinary day with her father, completely unaware of a life-changing surprise waiting for her.

The filmmakers envisioned the project as a blend of imaginative speculative fiction and grounded human emotion.

“We wanted to experiment with world-building and sci-fi elements, but at its heart, the story is about connection and the small, intimate moments that bind families together – no matter how much the world around them changes,” shared co-director and visual effects artist Poli Gonzales.

Co-director and writer Massah Gonzales-Gamboa echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the universal nature of local stories, “Setting the narrative in a cyberpunk Bacolod allowed us to explore how our local identity and food culture evolve over time. Bringing this vision to Oroquieta means so much to us because it shows that regional cinema can push visual boundaries while keeping its emotional core intact.”

Beyond the competition, the festival emphasizes community connection through talkback sessions following each screening. Viewers will have the direct opportunity to sit down with directors, writers, and crew members to discuss the process of bringing independent regional stories to life.

Whether exploring futuristic stories, personal relationships, or ecological struggles, the Negrense entries demonstrate the growing momentum of independent cinema outside Metro Manila. As audiences gather in Oroquieta this October, these films serve as a reminder that local stories, rooted in specific landscapes and cultures, carry messages that resonate everywhere.