Horizons / Filipiñana / Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, France 2026
Rafael Manuel’s highly anticipated debut is set at a luxury golf resort on the outskirts of Manila, where seventeen-year-old Isabel has just begun a job as a tee-girl. At first, she enjoys the luxurious atmosphere, but when she is asked to return a golf club to the club’s president, the more she goes looking for him the more she learns about the club’s strange rules, forbidden places, and secrets. A uniquely directed first feature, Filipiñana tells its story through imagery, with meticulously crafted shots that reveal a seemingly idyllic oasis that is also rotten, latently perverse, and deeply unsettling. The resort acts as a microcosm of the Philippines, with a power structure divided into the privileged and their subjects, a system of oppression and silent violence.
Vojtěch Kočárník
101 min / Color, DCP
Director Rafael Manuel
/ Screenplay Rafael Manuel
/ Dir. of Photography Xenia Patricia
/ Sound Vincent Villa
/ Editor Rafael Manuel
/ Art Director Tatjana Fanny Honegger, Carla Villanueva
/ Producer Jeremy Chua, Alex Polunin, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Nadia Turincev, Omar El Kadi, Rafael Manuel
/ Production Potocol, Ossian International, Epicmedia, Easy Riders Films, Idle Eye
/ Cast Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Isabel Sicat, Nour Hooshmand, Elle Velasco, Angeli Bayani, Micah Musa
/ Sales Magnify
Rafael Manuel. Filmography: Sadie Makes a Baby (2017, short), Dogeater (2019, short), Filipiñana (2020, short), 102 Narra (2024, short doc.), Filipiñana (2026).
Magnify
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