If you’re looking for a fresh way to experience film and music this December, mark your calendars for December 6, 2025, because the Santa Maria Music & Film Festival (SMMFF) is returning for another art-filled evening from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the breathtaking Santa Maria Open Air Cinema in Laguna. This mountaintop festival offers a rare kind of escape. Imagine cinema and music under the stars, surrounded by nature, and rooted in stories from around the world! Sounds like a good immersion or even date night idea.

Set against the ridgeline of the Sierra Madre, with views of Mt. Banahaw, Mt. Cristobal, and Laguna de Bay, SMMFF serves as a creative sanctuary in the Philippines. Since its debut in 2023, the festival has grown from a student-led passion project into a globally-reaching platform that celebrates creative storytelling, diverse voices, and the beauty of open-air cinema. However, since it’s now on its third year, SMMFF 2025 is set to present 39 finalists from 17 countries. These films include narrative shorts, documentaries, experimental works, and musical stories, each handpicked to reflect fresh perspectives and artistic depth.

Here’s the full lineup:

Quarter I Finalists

• Visions of Her, Mark F. Roling & Erik G. Voss (USA)
• K-Indi IDOL, Soo Sung Lee (Korea)
• Breaking Out, David Glass (USA)
• Madame Donalda, Alan Marcus (UK)
• Jamcation: The Chronicles of Now Defunkt, Scott Macklin (USA)
• Lucky Night, Eduardo Mendoza (USA)
• A Neighborhood Odyssey, Carlos Balvin (USA)
• Cowboy Boots, Eric Delehoy (USA)

Quarter II Finalists

• Greensky Bluegrass – Find Ourselves Lost, René Huemer (Austria)
• The Cost of a Dream, Adrian Pucheu (Dominican Republic)
• PAPmusic – Animation for Fashion, Leikié (Italy)
• I Miss You, Pluto, Bella Reeves (USA)
• Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, Alison Duke (Canada)
• The Man with the Microphone: A European Tour Documentary, B Menace (USA)

Quarter III Finalists

• The Child Within, Daniel Troia (USA)
• The Meaning of a Ritual, Natalie MacMahon (Germany)
• Time Before Kevin, Raine Gado (Philippines)
• I Am a Halo-Halo, Daniel Buhat (Philippines)
• Second Chance, India Anne Mitchell (USA)
• Break the Silence, Dax Phelan (USA)
• Between Three Worlds – Robert Zorn: Percussionist, Farmer and Composer from Tyrol, Sina Moser (Austria)
• Love Wins in the USA, Sidney Gil (USA)
• Say His Name, Billy Joseph, Jr. (USA)
• MEMRA, Yulia Travnikova (Russian Federation)
• Une Réflexion, M.Y.R.A. Entertainment (Singapore)

Quarter IV Finalists

• Cotton Candy, Jesse Klick (USA)
• To Be Anders Widmark, Peter Östlund (Sweden)
• Image Dance, John Dawson (USA)
• First Refusal, Courtney Sanello (USA)
• American Pot Story: Oaksterdam, Ravit Markus & Dan Katzir (USA)
• Reborn, Ken Izumisawa (Japan)
• Castle in the Air, Jess D’Aguanno (Australia)
• Clout Chaser, Lubomir Atan (USA)
• The World of UConn Stamford’s Campus Library, Dorian Robinson (USA)
• Inspire Me, Geoffrey Fighiera (France)
• Chance Encounters, Hasi Eldib (Canada)
• Guiding Light, India Anne Mitchell (USA)
• Life in Tandem, Joseph Litzinge & Mia Grimes (USA)

Each finalist represents a unique voice, and only the final winners will be screened at the festival, making this one-night-only event a curated showcase of the year’s strongest entries. So in case you want a bit of film inspiration or maybe just to try something new, this might just be the best place to be on December 6. Admission is FREE with advance registration through this link, but seating is limited. Don’t forget to bring a light jacket, a refillable bottle for hydration, and comfortable shoes fit for the mountain terrain!

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