CineKasimanwa: Western Visayas Film Festival

CineKasimanwa: Western Visayas Film Festival is a film festival in Region VI (Western Visayas), Philippines. Western Visayas consists of 5 provinces, 3 cities, 95 municipalities with a population of more than 4 million people. The film festival continuously envisions to feature, support, encourage and promote Ilonggo Cinema to the region and the world. “Kasimanwa” is a friendly term in Hiligaynon language which roughly translates as "someone who is from the same region". Through its name and as done during the three editions of the festival, there is a sense of belongingness with cinema uniting everyone.

Many filmmakers from the Philippines come from this part of the region and as such there is a vibrant cinema culture within Western Visayas with films in Hiligaynon, Karay-a and Aklanon languages. CineKasimanwa focuses on local stories and visions with a very diverse program from full-length to shorts, narratives to experimental works, traditional to new media, special program for children and an annual program for horror, science fiction and unclassifiable films. Western Visayas has a very rich culture with many folklores, family drama and stories of locals told through generations.

The short films programmed for VIDDSEE to coincide with the fourth edition of the festival were some of the most interesting films from the first and second editions. More than just a sampling of films from the region, the content is curated to reflect the local feel and organic beat of the Western Visayan culture. It is hoped that through this selections the local stories of our region may resonate to the world.