The 12th Diwa Filipino Film Festival of Seattle

 

Diwa Filipino Film Festival of Seattle is a community-centered film festival that celebrates the Filipino spirit wherever it resides. It first started as part of the annual Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival back in 2014. In 2025, Diwa held its first standalone film festival at the Wing Luke Museum in October to kick off Filipino American History Month. Almost a hundred attendees joining us in person to celebrate Filipino creativity, heritage, and resilience on screen. It was a powerful gathering of filmmakers, artists, and audiences who believe in the importance of Filipino and Filipino American stories. As actress Eloisa Cardona beautifully said during opening night:

“It’s about time we have our own film festival in Seattle. It gives me immense pride that we started something that’s going to grow. And how we as a Filipino American community can follow the progression of our stories — it will be a beautiful flower that’s going to bloom and last a long time.”

We were thrilled to partner with community leaders and organizations including Roger Tang with Pork Filled Productions, Noelle Evangelista with Tanggol Migrante Network, and Aleksa Manila with Pride Asia. We were also deeply honored to welcome actress Eloisa Cardona, musician Roger Rigor, and filmmakers Shea Formanes, Mya Sullivan, Larry Daguino Lariosa, and others for insightful Q&A sessions and post-film conversations that reminded us of the power of community storytelling.
 

This year, we are so excited to be back as part of Pagdiriwang at the Seattle Center Armory Loft 2 on June 6th and 7th, 2026, from 12:00 to 6:00 pm. Admission is Free!
 

Then, later this year, the fun continues at the Diwa Filipino Film Festival at Wing Luke Museum’s Tateuchi Story Theatre on October 3rd and 4th, 2026. Please stay tuned for more details!
 

Diwa is directed and curated by Adrian Alarilla, PhD, a writer, filmmaker, and historian. Born and raised in the Philippines, he is currently based in Seattle. 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.
 

The Diwa Filipino Film Festival of Seattle is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, and is a proud recipient of 4Culture’s Sustained Support grant.