'Forgotten Island', '58th' Screen At Manila International Film Festival

The United States is home to countless film and animation festivals. Including festivals dedicated to cinema from various other parts of the world. There are French film festivals, Japanese film festivals and for the past three years Los Angeles is home to the Manila International Film Festival, celebrating Philippine and diaspora cinema on the global stage.

The first part of this year's MIFF line-up has been announced, and is led by an advanced screening of DreamWorks Animation's new film Forgotten Island. Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, the team behind Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, the film is steeped in Filipino folklore and culture.

MIFF will present Forgotten Island three weeks ahead of its national release.The DreamWorks Animation Original follows lifelong best friends  Jo, voiced by H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano, who stumble upon a portal that transports them to the island of Nakalimutan and the magical and mythological creatures they grew up hearing about from their Filipino families. When they discover that the price for going home will be forgetting the memories of each other, they race to find a way to leave the island and save their friendship.

Lea Salonga, a Tony Award Winner and recipient of the festival's MIFF Icon Award, voices The Dreaded Manananggal, the most feared creature on the island. The voice cast also includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy and Ronnie Chieng.

Also screening at the festival is Carl Joseph Papa's animated documentary 58th. The film is a retelling of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, told through the family of photojournalist Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay whose remains were never recovered, and whose death the courts never acknowledged. From the writer and director of The Missing, the film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and competed at Annecy earlier this year.

The festival will also screen the animated/live-action hybrid short film The Vale: Origins as part of its Lea Salonga retrospective. The film is the directorial debut of Abigail Hing Wen, and serves as a prequel to her middle-grade novel The Vale.

The third Manila International Film Festival will take place from September 3-6, 2026 with film screenings, filmmaker Q&As and industry panels, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, followed by the Closing Night Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Tickets are available now.