A Dubai-based Filipino production group that gambled on filming in the Philippines despite a limited budget walked away with multiple honors at the Emirates Film Festival’s 12th edition, capping a journey its founder describes as defined more by doubt than by certainty.
UBE Production, a licensed production group established in the UAE with a following built largely among overseas Filipino workers, secured four wins and a nomination across two films screened at the festival. The Emirates Film Festival held its 12th edition Awards Night on 07/26/2026 at the New Covent Garden Theatre inside Mall of the Emirates, presenting honors that celebrate filmmakers from the UAE and the wider international community.
Its documentary GIID, a story by Jomer Protacio, took Best Documentary, while the same film earned Dennis Eudela the Emerging Filmmaker award. The group’s other entry, OSMAN, directed by Markus Engr, won Best Cast Ensemble, with young actor Asher Gabriel Protacio named Best Child Performance. OSMAN also drew a nomination for Best Screenplay.
Both films were shot in the province of Aklan, a decision that invited skepticism before it earned recognition. The Philippine shoot was carried out with local partners Aklan Kamera Org and Musyon Film Productions, whose collaboration helped make the productions possible on the ground. Mark Darwin Ingeniero, founder and director of UBE Production, said the group pressed on despite warnings that it lacked the resources to justify a Philippine shoot.
“We were doubted and criticized by some people, saying that we should not have filmed in the Philippines if we didn’t have a big budget,” Ingeniero said. “But today, this is the result of that journey.”
He framed the productions as an act of conviction taken against financial odds, recalling that he shouldered the costs and the risk of moving the shoot to the Philippines with his artists because he believed in the vision. “Pikit mata ko po itinawid ang production costs and took the risk of bringing our production to the Philippines together with my artists because I believed in our vision. I never regretted that decision because it has now borne fruit,” he said.
The wins arrive at a festival that has been repositioning itself for a wider audience. The Emirates Film Festival, which bills itself as the UAE’s first independent film festival, opened submissions for its 2026 edition through a newly launched international gateway and has said the season would elevate homegrown talent while broadening its global reach. The festival operates under a formal license from the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones granted in August 2025.
For Ingeniero, the recognition carries a message aimed at those still working without backing. He asked that the group’s story be told not merely as a record of trophies but as an argument for a different kind of support. “I hope our story can be featured before highlighting the recognition and awards we received. I believe it will inspire others to keep believing in their dreams despite limited resources and criticism,” he said.
That belief, he added, is the point he wants remembered above the results themselves — that the people who matter are the ones who show up before the applause, when the outcome is still unknown and the risk still belongs entirely to the dreamer.
