MANILA, Philippines – Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Director-General Paolo Villaluna is still “proud of the herculean efforts” of the teams behind the films Magellan, Food Delivery: Fresh From the West Philippine Sea, and Vox Humana despite there being no Filipino films in the 2026 Oscars shortlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the list of nominees in 12 categories for the 2026 edition of the Oscars on Wednesday, December 17. Lav Diaz’s Magellan was the Philippines’ official entry to the prestigious awards ceremony.

It would have been the first Filipino film to get shortlisted in the Best International Feature category, and hopefully, make Oscars history. But even though Magellan missed out on advancing to the next step, it still garnered much recognition elsewhere.

“Magellan came really close to getting shortlisted; earning acclaim from TIFF, NIFF and [Valladolid], getting a standing ovation this year at Cannes, getting picked up by Janus Films and being written about by major industry outlets like Variety, the New Yorker, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and several others!” Villaluna exclaimed in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Magellan won the Golden Spike (Best Picture award) at Spain’s Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as SEMINCI.

Meanwhile, Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea was also one of the films FAP shortlisted as the Philippines’ entry to the 98th Academy Awards. It had defied censorship, receiving an international award despite initially being axed by a local film festival.

Villaluna emphasized how the documentary had been brought by Baby Ruth Villarama and Chuck Gutierrez from “Scarborough Shoal to Hawaii, LA, New York, Amsterdam, Taiwan and London.”

Vox Humana, a short film directed by Don Eblahan, also presented a strong showing on the global stage. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2024.

“It may be the first time na nakapag-submit ang isang Pinoy short film sa Academy portal — that alone is a feat, because their voters ay na-expose sa Pinoy short film. And regional short pa!” Villaluna wrote.

(It may be the first time that a Pinoy short film was submitted to the Academy portal — that alone is a feat, because their voters were exposed to a Filipino short film. And it’s a regional short, too!)

“Our cinema is globally recognized, our storytellers some of the best in the world. Hollywood is the next frontier Pinoys can lay claim to, at naniniwala ako (and I believe) our chances are better next year because of these 3 films, dahil aggressive ang efforts nila (because their efforts are aggressive), and Hollywood is starting to take notice,” Villaluna added.

The 98th Academy Awards are set to happen on March 16. Some of the upcoming edition’s most notable nominees in the Best International Feature Film category are:

• Argentina, Belén
• Brazil, The Secret Agent
• France, It Was Just an Accident
• Germany, Sound of Falling
• India, Homebound
• Iraq, The President’s Cake
• Japan, Kokuho
• Jordan, All That’s Left of You
• Norway, Sentimental Value
• Palestine, Palestine 36
• South Korea, No Other Choice
• Spain, Sirât
• Switzerland, Late Shift
• Taiwan, Left-Handed Girl
• Tunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab

– Rappler.com