PAGDIRIWANG PHILIPPINE FESTIVAL
DIWA Filipino Film Showcase
The Diwa Filipino Film Festival is a community film festival in Seattle that celebrates the Filipino Spirit wherever it resides by exhibiting independent films from the Philippine islands and beyond. Since its inaugural screening in 2014, the festival has featured new works from all over the world, weaving them together into interesting and thought-provoking programs.
This year, Diwa is very excited to be in person (and beyond!) during the Pagdiriwang Festival on June 3 & 4, 2023, with a new location within the Seattle Center Armory. We are thrilled to offer an in-person filmmaking workshop this year, in addition to the film showcase. After the Pagdiriwang festival, Diwa will continue online and on-demand through the Vimeo platform from June 5 to 19, 2023, with intimate filmmaker conversations as well.
The showcase is spearheaded by Adrian Alarilla, a writer, researcher, and PhD candidate originally from Quezon City currently pursuing his Graduate Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Joining him is Joann Natalia Aquino, the Programming Manager, and Joni Gutierrez, the Marketing Manager.
While there is no admission fee, we do request audience members register beforehand for access to the online video platform. We will then email you the access details at the start of the virtual festival.
Adrian Alarilla is a writer, filmmaker, and a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa studying Filipino migration focusing on kinship networks and genealogies of movement in both U.S. empire and Filipino nation. Born and raised in the Philippines, he is currently based in Seattle. He also helps organize the Southeast Asia x Seattle Film Festival and the annual Diwa Filipino Film Festival at the Seattle Center. His films parallel his research interests, as he uses the personal documentary genre to reflect on and process the contemporary experience of Filipino migration. He has shown his works, including his first full-length documentary film project, “Kung Saan Man Tayo (Wherever We May Be),” all over the US, Canada, Mexico, Cambodia, Bangladesh, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Joann Natalia Aquino is a writer, a publicist, an arts marketer, and a traveling freelance journalist covering lifestyle including the arts, food, travel and wellness. She has over 25 years experience in the communications field from writing and editing, to public relations, marketing and community engagement. She is a lifelong student of life, traditional healing practices, plant medicine, indigenous foodways and pre-colonial Philippine traditions. Committed to mind-body-spirit holistic health, Joann is trained as an herbalist, a birth and postpartum doula and in various healing modalities.
Jose Gutierrez III is a filmmaker, photographer, multimedia designer, researcher, and educator. With a doctoral degree in film studies and communication, Joni is passionate about advocating for minority representation in cinema and promoting inclusivity in society. He aims to make a positive impact through educational programs, including the web series, "Film 101," available on various social media platforms.
