Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana Brings Stories of the Filipino to Sundance, Berlinale, and Beyond

From a short to a full-length feature, Filipiñana took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at Sundance 2026, marking a new milestone on the global stage.

As parts of Park City’s Main Street close for Sundance, the town turns into a cold-weather maze of packed screenings, industry meetings, and layered festivalgoers navigating the snow. Amid it all, Filipiñana screened in 2026 as Rafael Manuel’s expansion of his award-winning short into a full-length feature.

The Sundance Film Festival, held annually in Utah, is one of the world’s most prestigious platforms for independent films, known for spotlighting emerging voices and innovative storytelling from around the globe.

Filipiñana made its mark by bagging the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision, an honor that celebrates filmmakers with bold, distinctive voices in the international dramatic competition. Originally conceived as a short film, Filipiñana has grown into a full-length feature that follows Isabel, a 17-year-old from Ilocos who works at an elite country club in Manila.

“Winning in Sundance and getting praises from critics was a real boost to our company’s mission. Rafael Manuel is a debut filmmaker and that means a new singular voice in Philippine cinema is born,” says Bianca Balbuena, producer at Epicmedia, the company that helped bring the film to life.

Before it even became a full-length feature, Filipiñana left its mark internationally. The short premiered at Berlin’s 70th International Film Festival (Berlinale) in 2020 as part of the Shorts Competition and walked away with the Silver Bear Jury Prize for Best Short Film, one of the festival’s most coveted awards. It has also since been added to the Criterion Collection, featured as a “sharply observed miniature” on the state of Philippine society.

“The film is set entirely on a golf course in the Philippines, which I think is the perfect microcosm for my country,” Manuel said, speaking in the Sundance Institute’s series of “Meet the Artist” teasers. “It’s a very large and very fertile plot of land that is toiled on and worked on by so many people but ultimately enjoyed and profited from by only a select and privileged few.”

Lead actor Jorrybell Agoto, who played Isabel in both films, says returning to set with Manuel and the crew for the feature-length film felt like muscle memory. “Isinasama niya ako sa immersion, even ‘yong [sa] pagbubuo ng kwento,” she tells Vogue Philippines, highlighting how Manuel balances direction with collaboration. “Talagang nag-build siya and nagbigay siya ng spacepara magkaroon kami ng relationship and friendship.”

That collaborative approach also shaped her connection to her character, noting how the character mirrors parts of her own journey. “From Ilocos din kasi si Isabel tapos pumuntang Manila. May gano’n kaming mga similarities,” Agoto adds on the resonance that built her performance.

Meanwhile, designer Isabel Sicat’s path into Filipiñana as an actor unfolded just as unexpectedly. Cast as a young caddie navigating the elite world of a Manila country club, she initially joined the production to assist with its costumes before being asked to audition a week before principal photography. “At the end of that day, they offered me the role,” she recalls. Seeing the film screen at Sundance, she adds, was “such a joy,” giving her “the same energy boost you get when artists from around the world come together and just flex what they love.”

The feature-length Filipiñana will return to Berlinale from February 12 to 22, 2026, this time screening in the Perspectives section alongside more Filipino films: Ryan Machado’s Rumaragasa, Honeylyn Joy Alipio’s Enjoy Your Stay, and Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005), marking a defining time for Philippine cinema on the global stage.