Eraserheads Documentary Wins Big at International Film Festival

Eraserheads: Combo on the Run director Maria Diane Ventura received the Best International Director Award at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) Music Documentary Film Festival on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at Stony Brook Village on Long Island, New York. 

While any other director would jump for joy at the thought of finally being internationally acclaimed, Ventura sees the award as secondary to the film itself: a Filipino band celebrating a FilipinoFilipinoThe national language of the Philippines, widely used for communication, education, media, and culture.Go to Filipino Glossary victory. 

“The Eraserheads’ legacy is already firmly established at home. I don’t think an international award defines or validates that,” Ventura told GQ Philippines. “What I hope it does is extend the conversation beyond the Philippines and introduce their story, and by extension OPM, to people who may never have encountered either before.”

Eraserheads: Combo on the Run is a documentary that tells the story of the titular rock group: their formation, the issues that led to their breakup, and their journey to an eventual reunion. It is also the only FilipinoFilipinoThe national language of the Philippines, widely used for communication, education, media, and culture.Go to Filipino Glossary film on the LIMEHOF lineup, which included entries from 14 other countries.

However, it wasn’t made with international audiences in mind. In fact, it opens at the University of the Philippines Diliman, tugs at the heartstrings of 90s FilipinoFilipinoThe national language of the Philippines, widely used for communication, education, media, and culture.Go to Filipino Glossary fans, and peaks during its concert at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque.

“There is such a wealth of music and storytelling coming from the Philippines, and I would love for FilipinoFilipinoThe national language of the Philippines, widely used for communication, education, media, and culture.Go to Filipino Glossary artists to be experienced internationally without having to lose what makes them distinctly Filipino,” said Ventura.

The film is raw and intimate, unafraid to show the ups and downs of becoming the biggest band in the Philippines. Its closing scenes show a different side of the four members. Upon getting back together, the band finally went out for drinks, marking the first time they had hung out socially in 40 years. It sounds almost crazy to believe they never did, yet beer has a way of becoming the perfect catalyst for reconnection.

Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia, who joined the director at the film’s post-screening talk at the festival, attributed that moment to reflections he made as a family man raising two children. 

“I wanted to be a good example to my family, especially my kids, by not letting my past traumas define me; they, in turn, could find a more positive view of themselves as they move towards their own personal growth,” Buendia told GQ Philippines.

Each member’s solo ventures also appear in the end credits, including Buendia’s Offshore Records, which he founded in 2016. When asked how he uses the label to bring in and support the next generation of OPM stars, the frontman drew not only on his time in Eraserheads, but also on his experience as a young, up-and-coming artist.

“What we offer is guidance and a space to let each artist’s ideas flourish. It’s what I would have wanted for myself when I was just starting and signed to a label,” he said.

Buendia’s work with Offshore Records reflects the same hope Ventura has for the film. For her, its reception overseas is less about the trophy and more about authenticity, and looking towards what comes next for the future of Filipino music: the person who gets hypnotised and influenced by our art, wherever they may come from.

“If this film and this recognition can make someone curious enough to listen to the Eraserheads, discover another OPM artist, or simply look more closely at what is coming out of our country, then all the hard work and sleepless nights were worth it,” she said.