The Tingin Southeast Asian Film Festival 2025 is set to grace the country, dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema storytelling. Led by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the festival follows the theme “Women’s Ways of Seeing,” aiming to develop a feminist theory of knowledge among film viewers.
The Tingin Festival will mark historical landmark events such as the 30th anniversary of the 1995 UN World Conference of Women, when member countries agreed to promote gender equality, and the 50th anniversary of the impactful essay about the male gaze by Laura Mulvey entitled “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”.
The festival’s motif is portrayed as the hibiscus rosa-sinensis—the national flower of Malaysia—to commemorate this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) led by Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
By showcasing stories of women’s struggles, triumphs, and everyday realities, the Tingin Festival aims to shed light on cinema’s role in amplifying Southeast Asian voices on a global stage. The official film lineup includes Moral by Marilou Diaz-Abaya (Philippines), Don’t Cry Butterfly by Duong Dieu Linh (Vietnam), WAShhh by Mickey Lai (Malaysia), My Wonderful Life by Calleen Koh (Singapore), My Therapist Said, I Am Full of Sadness by Monica Vanesa Tedja (Indonesia), The Blanket by Mitpasa Sitthihakpanya (Laos), Mycelium Memory by Felicia Luna King (Thailand), Akademi by Siti Kamaluddin (Brunei), Until the Orchid Blooms by Polen Ly (Cambodia) and MA – Cry of Silence by The Maw Naing (Myanmar)
The film festival is free of admission and will run from September 26 to 27 at Gateway Cineplex 18 in Quezon City. Follow the Tingin Film Festival Facebook page to stay updated.
What film are you looking forward to watching the most? Let us know in the comments!