UST’s Sine Tomasino makes its comeback after seven years

Sine Tomasino is back! 🐯💛

After seven years of inactivity, Sine Tomasino Film Festival officially returns in 2026, marking the revival of the flagship student film festival organized by the Thomasian Film Society of the University of Santo Tomas. The festival’s great comeback follows its last edition in 2019, ending a seven-year hiatus and signaling a renewed commitment to celebrating student and emerging filmmakers.

First launched in 2015, Sine Tomasino was created as a platform for young storytellers, particularly students, to showcase their work on a larger stage. Over the years, it developed a reputation as one of the most prominent university-based film festivals in the Philippines, highlighting short films that explore personal narratives, social issues, and experimental storytelling.

A borderless revival

For its 2026 edition, the festival broadens its scope by opening select categories to filmmakers outside the University of Santo Tomas, allowing student and independent creators from other schools and communities to participate. This expansion aims to foster wider collaboration among emerging filmmakers and position the festival as a more inclusive space for Philippine student cinema.

Organizers describe the festival’s return as both a homecoming and a new beginning, bringing back a long-standing Thomasian film tradition while embracing a more diverse pool of storytellers. Alongside screenings, the festival continues its role as a creative hub for filmmakers, writers, actors, and audiences who share a passion for cinema.

With its long-awaited comeback after seven years, Sine Tomasino 2026 hopes to reaffirm its place as a breeding ground for new voices in Philippine filmmaking and a stage where young filmmakers, both Thomasian and beyond, can once again share their stories on the big screen.

Check out Sine Tomasino’s official page for updates and the full lineup of films: www.facebook.com/Sinetomasino/