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MANILA, Philippines — Filipino movie “Filipiñana” has been picked up by Kino Lorber for North American distribution ahead of its European premiere at Berlinale 2026.
The film directed by Rafael Manuel made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the largest festival in the United States for independent films, by competing in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, where it won the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.
“Filipiñana” is based on Manuel’s 2020 short film of the same name, starring Jorrybell Agoto, which won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival and was nominated for the Best British Short Film at the British Independent Film Awards.
A logline teases the story of a teenage girl named Isabel (Agoto) from the Ilocos region who is strangely drawn to Dr. Palanca (Teroy Guzman), the president of the Manila country club where she works as a tee-girl.
“However, after piecing together a violent picture of what lies beneath the club’s pristine surface, she realizes that what began as an innocent infatuation is actually rooted in a sinister shared history,” the synopsis goes.
Manuel’s directorial feature debut also stars Carmen Castellanos, Isabel Sicat, Nour Houshmand, Ruby Ruiz, Agot Isidro, Angeli Bayani, Shamaine Buencamino, and Carlos Siguion-Reyna.
RELATED: Filipino film ‘Filipiñana’ wins Sundance 2026 jury award
In a statement, Manuel noted how Kino Lorber handled the North American distribution for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth” and Miguel Gomes’ “Tabu.”
“It’s an honor to collaborate with a distributor so deeply committed to bold, international cinema on ‘Filipiñana’,” Manuel added.
The distributor chairman Richard Lorber, meanwhile, described “Filipiñana” in his own statement as a “cinematic miracle.”
“I can’t find enough adjectives to praise it for embodying the future of art cinema,” Lorber continued. “It’s an amalgamation of brilliant visual images, sound design, and choreography married with a poignant and potent, yet subtle, political statement.”
After a theatrical release later this year, Kino Lorber will handle a digital, educational, and home video release in North America.
“Filipiñana” is one of the 13 films competing for the Best First Feature Award in this year’s Berlinale’s Perspectives section. — Kristofer Purnell
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
