2025 Diwa Filipino Film Fest - Opening Night Feature

Kick off the 2025 Diwa Filipino Film Festival with our Opening Night Program that celebrates love, connectedness, family, and culture.

I Watched Her Grow by Shea Formanes (68 min, United States, 2024, English) - Seven years after the mysterious death of her mother, an isolated botanist meets an enigmatic, teenage runaway in a creek. Forming an unexpected bond, the two embark on a harrowing journey to confront their respective pasts, all while slowly realizing that they may not have to face their uncertain futures alone.

Preceded by Baradiya by Gab Mejia, David Loughran, Miko Reyes, & Antonio Jr. Dagoc (30 min, Philippines, 2024, Talaandig-Binukid w/ English Subs) - A Talaandig-Manobo Indigenous transwoman grapples with discrimination to uphold her community’s culture in becoming a “baylan” (Filipino queer shaman) amid the destruction of her ancestral land in Bukidnon, Philippines. This queer ecological story follows her life as she finds meaning in her ancestry, and embraces her true destiny as the spiritual descendant of Baradiya.

Host or Publisher Diwa Filipino Film Festival