Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana is a visually striking and quietly unsettling study of class, colonialism and exploitation in the Philippines. Set within the pristine grounds of an elite Manila golf club, the film gradually exposes the violence and inequality hidden beneath its immaculate surface.
We attended a press screening at the BFI Screening Rooms in London ahead of Filipiñana’s UK premiere at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival. Beautifully composed, deliberately paced and deeply emotive, Manuel’s debut feature stayed with us long after leaving the cinema.
What is Filipiñana about?
Set within an elite country club outside Manila, Filipiñana follows Isabel, a 17 year old from the rural north of the Philippines who begins working as a tee girl. Surrounded by wealthy and powerful men, she enters a world of immaculate fairways, luxury and strict hierarchies between those being served and those expected to serve them.
When Isabel attempts to return a misplaced golf club to the club’s director, Dr. Palanca, she is drawn deeper into a world normally hidden from view. What she discovers connects questions of power, violence and privilege with her own past.
A visually striking critique of class and power
What makes Filipiñana so effective is its restraint. Manuel allows images, sounds, silences and uncomfortable interactions to tell the story rather than explaining everything to the audience. The beautiful cinematography contrasts brilliantly with the feeling that something is deeply wrong beneath the club’s perfect exterior.
Filipiñana review: our verdict
Emotionally, Filipiñana lands with considerable force. A persistent sadness runs beneath Isabel’s journey as the film explores class inequality, exploitation, inherited trauma and the systems that allow violence to remain hidden.
For a debut feature, the film feels remarkably assured. Manuel transforms an immaculate golf course into a carefully controlled microcosm of Philippine society, where wealth, labour and power remain sharply divided.
Filipiñana may feel challenging to viewers who prefer conventional storytelling or a faster pace, but its restraint is precisely what makes it so affecting. This is visually striking, haunting cinema that refuses to offer easy answers.
Verdict: A powerful and unsettling debut that finds darkness beneath a picture-perfect surface.
Filipiñana has its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on 17 October 2026 and opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 20 November 2026.
Director and screenwriter: Rafael Manuel
Cast: Jorrybell Agoto, Teroy Guzman and Carmen Castellanos
Countries: Singapore, UK, Philippines, France and Netherlands
Year: 2026
Runtime: 99 minutes
Languages: Filipino, Ilocano and English
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