BAKUNAWA FEST is the first fantastic & genre-based film, art & music festival based in The Philippines and ran by volunteer filmmakers and artists. Bakunawa is a dragon-like creature in Philippine mythology that devoured moons. Because we are a genre-bending film fest, we want to flip the Bakunawa's role and we want it to instead symbolize the creative monsters inside us.
Because we've had a rough and tough year in 2024, our 11th and 12th editions were held this year 2025 had a very successful run, screening all our 95 selected films in physical venues starting in August 2025 and stretching up to December 2025 for the 12th edition. Bakunawa Fest runs annually in one season - spread in fourth months becoming a hybrid festival since the pandemic lockdowns.
Bakunawa was initially created with this principle: "new visions, new voices". We still stand by this principle as we continue to program young and young at heart promising filmmakers, artists & musicians who either have no access to expensive workshops and may not have the name recognition to be programmed in festivals. Since our third edition, we have included a section that screens curated local and international selected films mainly for educational purposes. Most of our Bakunawa Fest's film camps are done as outreach programs/workshops and are mostly free. Here our participants are scholars paid for by the festival and its partners usually hosted by different cities/municipalities in the Philippines.
[ Please note that, since we are an artist and volunteer-ran filmfest, we can't fund filmmakers to come physically and we don't pay screening fees. ]
We are a fantastic film fest. Our festival is interested in: Horror or Thriller Films / Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Adventure / Fantastic-themed Experimental Films, New Media, Expanded Cinema / Genre-Bending Films / Fantastic-themed Music Videos / Fantastic-themed Documentaries / Contemporary Art / Photography.
