Sylvia Sanchez and Nour Hooshmand raised the Philippine flag anew as they walked the red carpet of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea for their film ‘Ria.’
Nathan Studios took to social media on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to share photos of Sanchez, who donned a black dress with a black cape, and Hooshmand, who wore a strapless orange dress with a patterned texture, at the festival.
‘Ria,’ directed by Filipino filmmaker Arvin Belarmino, is making its world premiere at BIFF under the Vision Asia section. The 95-minute film is a Philippines-Netherlands-Norway-Saudi Arabia-Japan co-production.
The film follows Ria (Hooshmand), a folk-punk musician living in a slum facing eviction within five days. Ria and the punk community struggle against poverty, displacement and state violence.
Sanchez plays Olga, the community leader who took in Ria as an infant and raised her. Now suffering from diabetes, Olga is cared for by Ria as their community faces the threat of demolition.
‘Ria’ also stars Iana Bernardez, Veronica Reyes, Anastasia Bartolome, Kevin Regalado, Soliman Cruz, Paolo O’Hara, RS Magtaan and Andre Miguel, among others.
Hooshmand is fresh from her Best Supporting Actress win at the CinePanalo Film Festival 2026. She also appears in Rafael Manuel’s ‘Filipiñana.’ The film is the Philippines’ official entry at the 99th Academy Awards.
Sanchez, meanwhile, previously appeared in ‘I’mPerfect,’ in which she played Norma and also served as producer. The film became the Best Picture winner at the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival and featured actors with Down syndrome in its lead roles.
‘Ria’ is one of four Filipino films in the official selection of BIFF 2026. The other three are ‘Filipiñana’ by Rafael Manuel, ’58th’ by Carl Joseph E. Papa and ‘Let Us through, Dear Ancestors’ (‘Makikiraan Po’) by Lav Diaz.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs from Oct. 6 to 15 across Busan. The festival is presenting 316 films from 59 countries, including 247 official selections and 69 Community BIFF titles.
The festival opened with Kim Jong-kwan’s ‘The Table: Day and Night.’ Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh was named the 2026 Asian Filmmaker of the Year.