We present the list of international short films that will be screened at the Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival Davao which will take place October 25th – 29th, in Davao City, Philippines.

About the festival:
Ngilngig Asian Film Festival Davao, the only fantastic film festival in Southeast Asia, it is an annual gathering of films and filmmakers organized by filmmakers for filmmakers, who understand the struggles of filmmaking, who recognize the importance of film as a voice to be heard or an experience to be shared, and who celebrate a convening community of artists and not just a glamour portrayed in festivals.

“Ngilngig”, or its derivative “ngiga” (from ngilngiga), has been more commonly used by the Bisaya-speaking population to refer to something that is “kuyaw” (awesome). But the word originally refers to something that elicits horror or alluding to the macabre. Here are some words that might define the “ngilngig” factor in you: Gruesome, awesome, dreary, dreamy, dread, eerie, scary, ghosts, fantastic, bombastic, grim, goosebumps, gore, horror, terror, amazing, fear, weird, smelly, spirits, legend, myth, punk, metal, experimental, fairies, memories, visceral, mind-fuck, macabre, town tale, superstition.

International Short Section

Buffalo & Trout by Presley Paras – USA | 2019 – 13 minutes

Two female addicts, Buffalo and Trout, are hired to rob a white supremacists house. Once arriving to the house they are faced with a decision; either take the money and call it a job well done, or stay and rescue the young kidnapped couple being tortured by a group of white supremacists. (IMDb)

Trailer:

Blue Riding Hood by Fabio Bianchi – Italy | 2018 – 18 minutes

The Wolf, a sneaky inhabitant of the “concrete forest” of a noir city, is chased by the Hunter, a representative of the law who is after him after the murder of Red riding hood’s father. Eaten inside by the regret of the fatal mistake, the Wolf tries for years to relieve the pain with some pills named “blue dreams”, which successfully got rid of a previous fatal mistake haunting the Wolf’s mind: that of his own failure to look after his own three childs, who were lost forever in the forest’s stream. A close encounter with Grimm, his drug dealer, will reveal to the Wolf the chance to meet the grown-up Red riding hood, whom he will use as a cover to escape the hunter’s menace. Both the Wolf and the grown up Girl are unaware of each other’s common past, a fatal mistake from the girl’s side, whom like the original Charles Perrault version of the fable, will encounter a not so happy ending for her blindness to the real dangers of life. (CinemaOasis)

Bailaora by Rubin Stein – Spain | 2018 – 15 minutes

A war. A child. A dream.

Trailer:

Look Twice by William Davis – USA | 2018 – 8 minutes

A night surveillance security guard spots a trespasser on the property; then regrets grabbing their attention once he realizes the intruder is paranormal. (IMDb)

Make Me a Sandwich by Denman Hatch – Canada

Marcy and her husband Johnson, an elderly couple, live together in a constant state of disarray. Johnson continually demands Marcy make him sandwiches, ad nauseam, but how long can she withstand his abuse before she finally cracks?

Trailer:

Quiver by Shayna Connelly – USA | 2018 – 14 minutes

Suzanne’s grief transcends the boundaries of the natural world and arouses a primordial being. She courts this ghost, using intellect and desire to forge a union between them. Quiver melds horror and passion with Virginia Woolf’s idea of a woman requiring a ‘room of her own’ in which to uncover her true identity. Can Suzanne force a rift into the supernatural realm to build a space where she can coexist with what haunts her?

Trailer:

Portrait of a Lady by Kenny Leoncito – Canada

The son of a famous painter explores the world of his father’s paintings, searching for traces of his mother’s ghost.

Trailer:

Your Last Day on Earth by Marc Martinez Jordan – Spain | 2019 – 15 minutes

A Fox-dressed man breaks the space time limits with only one goal: to spend some time with his wife. But below this recreational act there’s a far more complex and ambitious plan.

Trailer:

Implant by Ran Li – USA, China | 2019

In a world where the technology exists to hack into peoples’ memories, a traditional housewife colludes with her close friend to expose her husband, who she suspects is unfaithful. A film about love, betrayal and technology. (IMDb)

Cure All by Yu Gu – New Zealand
Nemesis by Behzad Jafari – Iran