MANILA, Philippines (June 2025) — Three student films about Badjao youth, Rohingya scholars, and a flood-threatened Pampanga community just took the top prizes at one of the most quietly powerful film events in the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Philippines held its 4th Refugee Film Festival last June 20 at the Natividad Fajardo-Rosario Gonzalez Auditorium of De La Salle University Manila, marking World Refugee Day with a program built around one central idea: that stories of displacement deserve to be told with dignity, not just despair.
This year’s theme, “Solutions in Motion: Rebuilding Futures Together,” set the tone for a lineup that leaned into courage and agency over suffering and pity — and the Short Film Competition put young Pinoy filmmakers front and center.
And the winners are…
First place went to “Tambol,” produced by TR3S Productions, a student team from Tarlac State University. The film follows Ikil, a 19-year-old Badjao youth navigating forced displacement, systemic discrimination, and the loneliness of urban life far from home. The team behind it spans three colleges: Kharl Angelo Manaloto (College of Public Administration and Governance), Kissy Pingol (College of Arts and Social Sciences), and Angel Gabrielle Rico (College of Computer Studies).
Second place went to “First,” a collaboration between Columban College, Inc.’s Dokumentaryo ni Apo, the Junior Social Workers’ Association of the Philippines, and Rohingya Youth United-PH. The film documents Zaid M. Toyub and Abdullah Abdul Salam — the first Rohingya refugee scholars to complete a college degree in the Philippines through the Complementary Pathways Program — and honors Columban College for opening its doors to refugee youth.
Rounding out the podium was “Langit Lupa,” a thesis film by University of Makati Multimedia Arts students. Directed by Lester Casia, with support from Angeline Alayon, JM Navalta, Clia Micarte, and Rence Velez, the film follows Princess and her father Larry from San Gabriel in Macabebe, Pampanga — a flood-prone community where getting to school is already an act of resilience. Atty. Eduard M. Riparip served as thesis adviser.
The jury
Films were judged by a panel that included UNHCR National Goodwill Ambassador and broadcast journalist Atom Araullo, DLSU lecturer and news anchor Gerg Cahiles, State Counsel Rosalie Robles-Cumla, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and UP Los Baños Associate Professor Dr. Laurence Marvin Castillo, and UNHCR Philippines Head of National Office Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo.
International films on the bill
The festival also screened three international documentaries. “Another Place” traces Iranian-born filmmaker Jhizet Panosian’s own flight to the United States alongside the stories of three individuals rebuilding their lives in Denmark, Germany, and Belgium after the 2015 migration crisis. “Rosemary’s Way” follows Rosemary Kariuki on her mission to pull migrant women in Australia out of cultural isolation through laughter and community. “The Circle of Our Daughters,” set in Arsal, Lebanon, documents Syrian widows collectively working to rebuild from the ruins of conflict.
The festival was supported by the Department of Justice-Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, Pathways Pilipinas, De La Salle University, and Uniqlo Philippines.
