MANILA — The ASEAN Film & Television Summit 2026 opened in Manila, bringing together film leaders, policymakers, and creatives from across Asia and Europe under the theme "Navigating our Future, Together."
"The time is now for an Asian voice, Asian stories and Asia to unite and grow together," said Lorna Tee, Secretary General of the Asian Film Alliance Network (AFAN), in her opening message. "This year in Manila, we focus on the very urgent areas of archiving and education. Today, we're going to look at the past, the present and the future of Asian cinema."
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The discussions on film archiving and film education brought together regional perspectives, with FDCP Chairman and CEO Jose Javier Reyes, Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez, and AFAN Secretary General Lorna Tee welcoming delegates and guests. Meanwhile, Dr. Patrick Campos opened the forums with a keynote on the past and present landscape of Southeast Asian cinema, framing conversations on heritage preservation and regional collaboration.
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First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos also joined the Opening Ceremony, extending an advocacy she has carried since the start of the administration. Through CineGang Inc. and her continued engagement with local film stakeholders, she has pushed for a Philippine film industry that can compete and be seen globally, work recognized with a Visionary Award at the Manila International Film Festival.
The Summit also carried a major legislative announcement. Representative Benitez told delegates that the House committee he chairs has finalized a substitute bill for the Philippine Film Industry Development Act, the first comprehensive rewrite of the country's film law in 24 years. "Streaming arrived, two Supreme Court rulings redrew the rules, a pandemic closed almost every cinema in our country, AI walked onto the set, and the law never moved," Benitez said. "But earlier this week, we finally did."
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Building on Republic Act 11904, the Creative Industries Development Act of 2022, the bill elevates FDCP into a full Philippine film commission, introduces incentives for co-productions and location shoots meant to draw producers from Seoul, Bangkok, and Paris to see the Philippines as a partner rather than a backdrop, requires audiovisual literacy in K-12 classrooms so the talent pipeline starts in childhood, and makes the Philippine film archive permanent in law, with every state-supported film required to deposit its masters.
FDCP Chairperson and CEO “Joey” Reyes framed the Summit's larger purpose. "Let's learn from each other using the language of media," Reyes said. "Let us see the importance of media so that we may truly promote mutual understanding and hopefully peace... to give pride to be Asians, to give pride to be who we are as Asians, but more so, to give pride to the fact that we are part of a much larger and dynamic humanity."
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The stakes behind that message are increasingly economic as well as cultural. The European Audiovisual Observatory estimates more than 4.9 billion cinema tickets were sold worldwide in 2025, three percent more than the year before, with Asia accounting for 54% of global admissions and 38% of global box office, more than any other region. With over half the world's population calling Asia home, AFAN members say the work now underway on archiving, education, and industry policy is about matching that scale with equal recognition for Asian stories and talent.
The Summit continues through August 14, closing a week that began August 9 with the AFAN Boot Camp for Young Filmmakers.
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