International Silent Film Festival Manila 2025 Officially Kicks Off at Shangri-La Plaza
The International Silent Film Festival Manila (ISFFM) 2025 officially kicked off on June 17, 2025, at Shangri-La Plaza, warmly welcomed by members of the press and media. After years of pause and reflection, the festival returns with renewed energy and purpose, bringing together cultural institutions, musicians, and film lovers in a celebration of cinema, music, and international collaboration.
Mr. Johnny Rios, Retail Operations Head of Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, also graced the event and offered his warm welcome to the partners and media in attendance. He expressed the mall’s excitement in supporting ISFFM as one of their special cultural collaborations with participating countries, envisioning Shangri-La Plaza as a space for world cinema to thrive and be experienced by wider audiences.
This year’s festival embraces the exclamation point as its central symbol—a mark of excitement, urgency, and joyful noise. In the spirit of silent film, where expression is everything and every gesture is heightened, the exclamation point becomes a fitting emblem for a festival that seeks to amplify its voice in silence. It signals a bold return, a shared declaration: we’re back.
The 2025 edition reassembles its international community, reconnecting participating countries and introducing new voices, with an eye toward growth and reinvention. This is not just a return, but a reimagining of what the festival can be. Once again, ISFFM affirms its role as a platform for cultural dialogue, artistic experimentation, and cinematic exploration.
This year’s edition features new partnerships with Instituto Cervantes, the Philippine Italian Association, Japan Foundation Manila, the Austrian Embassy, and the Goethe-Institut Philippinen. Their curated films include Gigantes y Cabezudos (Spain), The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye (Japan), Wie Sich Der Kientopp Rächt, Aschenputtel, and Geschichten von Freiheit und Freundschaft (Germany), Beethoven (Austria), and Fra Diavolo (Italy)—a rich tapestry of stories from across cultures and eras.
These films will be accompanied by live musical scores from a compelling lineup of Filipino musicians. Featured performers include the genre-bending Psychic Surgeon, Pepe Manikan’s Progharmonic Orchestra, Hearlife Verein, the experimental duo Ma.Ma, and the all-female trio of Teresa Barrozo, Pat Sarabia, and Mariah Reodica — each bringing their distinct sound to this celebration of silent cinema.
Opening the festival on July 11 is Japan’s featured film, accompanied by a special performance from Nanako Yamauchi, a benshi or silent film narrator. Yamauchi will provide a live interpretation of the Japanese silent film, reviving the traditional art of benshi narration and offering audiences a rare and immersive cultural experience.
The festival runs from July 11 to 13 at Red Carpet Cinemas, Shangri-La Plaza, with a pocket screening event taking place on July 14 at Cine Adarna, UP Film Center.
ISFFM 2025 promises not only a revival of the beloved silent film tradition but a fresh encounter with its enduring power. The excitement is palpable—and this year, it ends not with a period, but with an exclamation point.
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