Organizer: Film Forum

Type/Location: In Person / New York, NY

Description:

Join Film Forum for the screening of FILIPIÑANA by Rafael Manuel.

Synopsis:

Amid stifling heat and pervasive drought, Isabel (Jorrybell Agoto), a 17-year-old Ilokana from the rural north, works at a posh country club outside Manila, lining up golf balls for powerful men to drive into the verdant horizon. New to the job, she wanders the immaculate grounds sampling its luxuries as members, including an industrialist and his expatriate niece, the club president and his pampered wife, and a slew of Chinese tourists, engage in a complex dance with the club’s doting and subservient staff. But something is rotting beneath the pristine fairways of the elite resort, as Isabel discovers when she tries to return a mislaid golf club to its patriarchal director, Dr. Palanca (Teroy Guzman). The deeper she journeys into its most exclusive corners, the closer she gets to the violent truths of the club, her native Philippines, and her own past.

Release: 2026

Runtime: 100 mins

Country: Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, France, Netherlands

Language: Filipino, English, Ilokano

Director: Rafael Manuel

Cast: Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman

About the Filmmaker:

Rafael Manuel (writer/director/editor) is based in between Amsterdam, London, and Manila. His short films have won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale, have screened at Locarno, IFFR, and FIDMarseiiles, and are exhibited by ARTE and the Criterion Collection. He is the last film protege at the Rolex Arts Initiative where he was mentored by Jia Zhang-ke. FILIPIÑANA is his debut feature-length film.

Registration:

To attend the event in person, please purchase tickets here.