Rafael Manuel’s acclaimed debut feature, Filipiñana, opens Aug. 28 at Film Forum, bringing a sharply observed Philippine story of class, labor and power to downtown Manhattan.
The 100-minute film follows Isabel, a 17-year-old Ilokana who begins working as a “tee girl” at an exclusive golf club outside Manila. Her job is to place golf balls for the club’s wealthy members, but as she moves through the resort’s manicured grounds and staff quarters, she gradually encounters the darker forces beneath its polished surface.
Filipiñana will open AUG. 28 at Film Forum, 209 West Houston St. The theater will host Q&A sessions with Manuel following the 7 p.m. screenings on Aug. 28 and 29. A sneak-preview screening with the director is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 27.
The film won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. It is Manuel’s first feature-length film and expands his 2020 short of the same title, which received the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Set amid heat, drought and carefully maintained luxury, the film uses the golf club as a setting for an examination of inequality and control. Film Forum describes the story as a “pastel-colored fairy tale” in which Isabel’s attempt to return a lost golf club reveals “class division, institutional patriarchy, and invisible violence.”
The film stars Jorrybell Agoto as Isabel, with Carmen Castellanos and Teroy Guzman. It is presented in Filipino, English and Ilokano with English subtitles.
Richard Brody of The New Yorker called Filipiñana “a masterwork,” praising Manuel’s visual style and his exploration of political, sexual, economic and cultural power relationships.
Manuel, a Manila-born writer and director, began his career in advertising before moving into independent cinema. He studied philosophy and visual communication at Ateneo de Manila University and later earned a master’s degree in filmmaking from the London Film School.
The film also reflects a major international mentorship in Manuel’s career. He worked with Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke for two years, from 2023 to 2024, through the Rolex mentoring program. Jia is an executive producer of Filipiñana.
The feature continues the world of Manuel’s 2020 short, which was also centered on a new tee girl navigating the rules and hierarchies of a golf course. In expanding the story, Manuel places Isabel at the center of a wider meditation on Filipino identity, privilege and the systems that preserve appearances while concealing exploitation.
Filipiñana is distributed by Kino Lorber. Screening schedules and tickets are available through Film Forum’s official website – filmforum.
