[SUNDANCE 2026] “Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana: Beneath the Manicured Surface” by Nirris Nagendrarajah
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on Filipiñana.
Rafael Manuel (director), Filipiñana, 2026. 100 min.
A successful short does not necessarily yield a successful feature.
One may add too little, exposing the material as slight, or too much, dissipating the concentrated force that made the shorter work compelling. Achieving the proper equilibrium is rare. Filipiñana, the 100-minute debut feature by Rafael Manuel, adapted from his 24-minute short that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, manages it.
As in the short, one strand of the narrative follows Isabel, played by Jorrybell Agoto, across an ominous, sweltering day. Isabel, an Ilokano speaker, works as a “tee-girl”, a real-life role undertaken by Filipino women on golf courses frequented primarily by affluent Chinese tourists and businessmen.
Her routine is unsettled by the seemingly benign presence of Dr Palanca, portrayed by Teroy Guzman, the country club’s president, who has vitiligo and habitually misplaces his belongings. These small lapses compel Isabel to traverse the club’s manicured terrains, offering her occasions to confront an anger that simmers beneath her composure.
A secondary narrative centres on Clara, played by Carmen Castellanos, a Westernised niece who resists her uncle Renato’s, portrayed by Carlos Siguion-Reyna, attempt to persuade her to remain in Manila, where she might enjoy the advantages of her privilege and a more comfortable life, even if that comfort depends upon the discomfort of others and unfolds amid visible corruption and violence.
“But who carries your bags?” one of the pink-clad caddies asks, curious about how golf clubs operate in the United States, in one of the film’s most chilling moments. Clara replies that she carries them herself, and the caddie’s astonished expression, unable to conceive of such autonomy, is quietly devastating.
This is a restrained and deliberately paced film in which the understated contrasts between the two women become the ground for Manuel’s exploration of class division. He observes rather than instructs.
What elevates the film, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision, is Xenia Patricia’s painterly cinematography. Her compositions manipulate depth within the frame, particularly in a lobby scene that directs the eye across multiple planes, a reminder that cinema remains an art form in practised hands.
It seems inevitable that something will rupture this stillness, yet the moment arrives so subtly that inattentive viewers may miss it. The film unfolds beneath its immaculate surface.
How to cite: Nagendrarajan, Nirris. “Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana: Beneath the Manicured Surface.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 13 Feb. 2026, chajournal.com/2026/02/13/Rafael-Manuel.
Nirris Nagendrarajah is a writer and culture critic from Toronto. In addition to Metatron Press, his work has appeared in MUBI Notebook, Little White Lies, The Film Stage, Ricepaper, Notch, Polyester, Intermission, Ludwigvan, and In the Mood Magazine. He is currently part of Neworld Theatre’s Page Turn program and at work on a novel. [All contributions by Nirris Nagendrarajah.]
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