“The Sound of Silence Grows Louder: ISFFM is Coming”

The International Silent Film Festival Manila (ISFFM) is set to light up Shangri-La Plaza’s Red Carpet Cinemas on July 11-13, 2025, with a dynamic showcase that brings together silent cinema classics and the pulse of live Filipino music. Now firmly reestablished after years of disruptions, ISFFM stands out for blending film heritage with contemporary sounds, creating a space where cultures meet and new artistic conversations take shape. 

This year’s lineup draws from a remarkable range of films: Austria’s The Life of Beethoven (1927) will be accompanied by a performance arranged through HearLife, which uniquely combines deaf and hearing musicians to interpret the story of Beethoven himself. Italy’s Fra Diavolo (1925) takes on new energy through the bold arrangements of Pepe Manikan’s Progharmonic Orchestra. Psychic Surgeons will add their adventurous jazz-electronic layers to Spain’s Gigantes y Cabezudos (1926). Ma.Ma. — the duo of Joee Mejias and Alyana Cabral — will offer a deeply textured, exploratory set for Germany’s Wie Sich Der Kientopp Rächt, Geschichten von Freiheit und Freundschaft, and Aschenputtel. From Japan comes The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye (1935), a story of intimacy between two women in the silent era, which will be reimagined through sound by Teresa Barrozo, Pat Sarabia, and Mariah Reodica.