‘Filipiñana’ at Cinemalaya 2026: peeling back society’s pristine facade

When Isabel attempts to return a mislaid golf club to Dr Palanca, she journeys deeper into the resort’s most exclusive corners, gradually uncovering the violent truths rotting beneath the surface of the club, her native country, and her own suppressed memories.

Crucially, Manuel chooses to cultivate a mood of dread without relying on graphic depictions of physical brutality. “There are two kinds of violence, objective and subjective,” Manuel states. “You don’t need to be a murderer or a criminal to be complicit in structural violence. It’s enough to live silently in an inherently violent system, as Isabel discovers in the movie.”

To articulate this invisible violence, the director relies on heightened realism through audio-visual grammar. For example, by amplifying the natural sound of a golf club hitting a ball by just a few decibels, it begins to sound like a gunshot.

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This meticulous visual language is further supported by the film’s striking 4:3 aspect ratio. Rather than capturing the expansive width of the golf course, Manuel restricts the frame to emphasise verticality and hierarchy. “In the film, the country club members are presented very high in the frame, while the workers are shown very low, looking up,” Manuel explains. “Verticality is a good instrument for demonstrating power.”

Producing a film defined by static, long-held takes and minimal action presents unique challenges in a market often dominated by commercial formulas. However, for Epicmedia—the Philippine production company behind the film, led by Bianca Balbuena and Bradley Liew—this was precisely the draw. 

Epicmedia has a proven track record of bringing unconventional Filipino narratives to the global stage, having previously produced boundary-pushing works like Lav Diaz’s Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis and Antoinette Jadaone’s That Thing Called Tadhana, among others. The company is uniquely positioned, being the only local outfit to have won awards at all four major international film festivals: Sundance, Cannes, Berlin and Venice. 

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“I don’t want to do something already being done by Star Cinema, VIVA, and Regal. We wouldn’t be able to do it as good as them so we need to follow our own taste and sensibilities,” Epicmedia president, CFO and COO Balbuena remarks on the company’s philosophy. “We wanted to do something that’s always a little different.”

For Filipiñana, Epicmedia secured international co-production support, most notably from Film4, the prestigious UK studio behind Academy Award-winning films like Poor Things and The Zone of Interest. Liew notes that securing support from an English-language powerhouse marks an exciting milestone. “The fact that they took a gamble, a risk, but at the same time, faith in Ram’s [Rafael Manuel] work... is a nice step in an international sphere,” Epicmedia CEO and head of development Liew shares. 

The film was also significantly bolstered by the support of acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke, whose work heavily influences the themes of globalisation and societal change in Filipiñana. Manuel was mentored by Jia through the Rolex Arts Initiative, leading Jia to join the project as an executive producer. 

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Balbuena admits that financing auteur cinema requires a distinct approach. “When you get a Lav Diaz or Rafael Manuel, for example, you need to raise non-recoupable financing so the director becomes more free in his expression and is not burdened by financial recoupability,” she explains. Film4 and the other international partners understood exactly what they were supporting. “They put money in a debut filmmaker, and they know it’s going to be slow cinema. They know there’s no romance or love story or big climactic points in the film. So I think more than financial recoupability, it’s really supporting the voice and the independent cinema of Asia.” 

Before returning to its home soil, Filipiñana garnered significant international momentum. At the Asian Project Market in Busan, the project secured three awards, serving as a crucial stamp of approval that helped lock in final financing and post-production partnerships, such as with Kongchak Studios and French sound designer Vincent Villa. Ultimately, the film made its highly anticipated world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. There, it earned the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.

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To capture Manuel’s precise vision of the country club environment, the production team, including Swiss cinematographer Xenia Patricia and production designer Tatjana Fanny Honegger, scouted over 100 golf courses. They ultimately shot the film across eight different locations in the Philippines to piece together one cohesive, oppressive setting.

“It wasn’t difficult to secure permits. It was difficult in finding what Ram really wanted,” Balbuena recalls. “He really wanted brutalist architecture. Many squares, many barriers.” Adding to the complexity of the shoot, the 50-day production schedule ran into the monsoon season, challenging the crew to battle the elements while maintaining the film’s illusion of stifling, pervasive heat and drought.

In a setting traditionally associated with inaction, the film portrays Isabel’s journey as a gradual awakening. “Because of her lowly stature in the hierarchy of the club, and the Philippines at large, her verticality and mobility are limited. She can’t do big things, but she can do small things, so we focused on the small things—these little acts of rebellion. Revolution starts from these small acts of rebellion,” Manuel describes.

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The film also explores the performative nature of these elite spaces through rhythmic, almost choreographed scenes of mundane tasks, inspired by the works of Jacques Tati. “My influence for the musical scenes is very much the Filipino people—if you go to my country, you’ll notice everyone singing and dancing in the streets,” Manuel notes. “Everything is hyper-performative in these kinds of spaces, whether it’s the country club members and the way they have to behave in polite society, or the workers, who are obligated to appear a certain way in front of the members.”

Reflecting on their journey with Filipiñana and Epicmedia’s broader success, Balbuena and Liew offer practical advice for emerging producers and filmmakers. First, they emphasise the importance of watching films, particularly world cinema. Liew notes that understanding the history of cinema is essential to seeing what is possible in the future. Secondly, Balbuena advises creators to listen to their inner voice and ignore industry noise or competition. “As a producer, your goal is to make a film that you love,” she asserts, reminding filmmakers not to be driven solely by the desire for festival accolades. Finally, Liew stresses the necessity of understanding the technical ecosystem of filmmaking—from sound and editing to visual effects—reminding creatives that production is about reacting to the environment and dealing with people, not just perfecting a script. 

Following its world premiere at Sundance, bringing Filipiñana back to the Philippines holds immense personal weight for its creators. 

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For Balbuena, who began her career as an assistant director and line producer at a Cinemalaya-entry film, returning to the festival with the closing film is a surreal, full-circle moment. “When we make local films, of course we think of the global market and the global appeal, but technically it’s really made for Filipinos,” she reflects. “Going back there for a closing film with a film that I deeply love and champion, it’s an overwhelming, surreal feeling.”

Liew echoes this sentiment, emphasising that their ultimate goal is to forge a connection with local audiences. “We don’t make films to say, ‘I want to make it in Hollywood’... We make films because we believe in the stories and we believe in the auteurs, and this story is Filipino,” Liew states. “The hope would be a certain sense of understanding or connection between what director Ram wants to say on screen and how the audience interprets it inside.”

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As Filipiñana closes Cinemalaya 22 on August 16 at the Red Carpet Cinemas in Shangri-La Plaza, it promises to leave audiences with lingering questions about the invisible systems they inhabit. Through its deliberate pacing, stark visual grammar, and quiet acts of defiance, the film peels back the manicured facade of modern Philippine society, revealing the deeply entrenched violence that too often goes unseen.

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Eric and Bea Dee are building a life and a business based on partnership, purpose and mutual goals