The Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) will extend campaign support to Carl Joseph Papa’s 58th and Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero’s Agapito as they seek consideration at the 99th Academy Awards. Through its Pinoy Oscars Pursuit initiative, 58th will campaign in the Best Documentary Feature Film category, while Agapito will seek consideration for Best Live Action Short Film.
The two films are not additional official Philippine submissions to the Oscars. The country’s sole official entry for the International Feature Film category is Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana. FAP’s support for 58th and Agapito is part of a broader effort to increase the visibility of Philippine cinema across different Academy categories.
“The Oscars should see more of Philippine cinema, and Pinoy Oscars Pursuit is our effort to make that happen,” FAP Director-General Paolo Villaluna said.
Two Films, Two Filipino Stories
58th is an animated documentary by Carl Joseph Papa that revisits the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre through Reynafe Castillo, whose father, photojournalist Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay, was among those killed. The film premiered at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam, later screened at Annecy, and won the Facing the Edge Award at Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand, an Oscars-qualifying festival.
Meanwhile, Agapito premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received an Honourable Mention from the Short Cuts jury. The film follows Mira, a senior pin setter at a fading duckpin bowling alley, and her monthly visits with her brother Junior.
With Filipiñana, 58th, and Agapito now pursuing opportunities in different Oscar categories, the Philippines is making a broader push to bring more Filipino stories, filmmakers, and voices to the Academy.
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