August 1, 2026 - Filipino filmmaker Lawrence Fajardo’s sociopolitical drama Silenced Nights is one of 12 finalists for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Platform Award.
This will be the first time in TIFF history that the winner of the Platform Award will secure direct eligibility for the Academy Award’s (the Oscars) International Feature Film. Silenced Nights is also the first Filipino feature film to compete in the Platform programme since it was introduced over a decade ago.
Silenced Nights follows a witness to a fatal police shooting of a teenage boy in a Manila slum. It draws references from the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in 2017 during former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
The Platform lineup is made up of 12 films from around the world selected for their bold directorial vision and distinctive storytelling by a jury of five led by Argentinian director/producer Pablo Trapero. Aside from a cash prize of $20,000, the winning film will have a direct pathway for competing as Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Award. TIFF is one of only six international film festivals to qualify worldwide.
Award-winning director Lawrence Fajardo trained under the legendary Peque Gallaga at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, Philippines. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
“Platform was created to spotlight directorial voices and this year’s 12-film selection is an imaginative reflection of new auteur cinema now,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “We are honoured to welcome a jury of distinguished artists and industry leaders to inspire and support with their expertise and commitment to global cinema.”
Fajardo is a film and television director known for fast-paced action films, the most popular of which is the urban crime drama Amok released in 2011. Amok won the Best Sound and Editing in the Gawad Urian the following year, the Special Prize of the Jury Award at the Detective Fest in Moscow and screened in international film festivals in South Korea and the UK.
With screenplay by Troy Espiritu, Silenced Nights was shot in fictional Happyland, Tondo, and follows an ordinary worker who witnesses the deadly police shooting of a teenage boy. It explores fear, silence, and the consequences of pursuing justice through a cinéma vérité approach. Silenced Nights’ ensemble cast includes Nico Antonio, Lotlot de Leon, Ina Feleo, Tanya Gomez and Joel Saracho.
About the Author
Rachel Ramos-Reid started writing for magazines and newspapers when she was still a junior at the University of the Philippines’ Communication degree program majoring in Journalism. She continued to write in a public relations/corporate communications capacity in various private and government offices until moving out of the country in 1997 to work as Programme Officer for the arts and culture branch of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-SPAFA) in Bangkok, Thailand. At the end of her term, Rachel found herself immigrating to Canada in the year 2000 and again searching for new beginnings.
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