In Film, These Filipino Women Are Showing What Women Can Do as Storytellers

For this year’s International Women’s Month, Vogue Philippines invites leading and rising Filipina women to share their stories. In the world of silver screens, these Filipino women are breaking through with their stories.

This Women’s Month, Filipino-American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Her win was widely celebrated, sparking discussions on representation and criticism towards the Academy for taking 98 years to give an award to a female cinematographer.

Now, more than ever, female filmmakers are breaking through with their craft and voices, showing what women can do as storytellers. Below, see the Filipino women who are charting their own path in film while uplifting women’s stories.

Isabel Sandoval

Born in Cebu City, Isabel Sandoval is a critically acclaimed Filipina independent filmmaker and actress based in the US, known for directing and starring in films like Lingua Franca (2019) and Apparition. She is also recognized as the first openly transgender woman of color to compete at the Venice International Film Festival. 

In the June 2024 issue of Vogue Philippines, Sandoval spoke about the themes her films explore. “My films are all explorations of power—how it’s lost, how it’s relinquished, how one claims it back,” she said. “I’m drawn to women protagonists that are disempowered in some way […] who in the bigger picture, might seem powerless but in their realm, the domestic realm, with their relationships, they try to assert themselves somehow as a way to hold on to their dignity.”

Dolly de Leon

Since her breakout role in the 2022 film Triangle of Sadness, Dolly de Leon has hit the ground running, becoming the first Filipino to be nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award. Since then, the actress has been featured in several international films and series, such as Nine Perfect Strangers (2025) and Ghostlight (2024), and has recently joined the cast of the upcoming DreamWorks animated film Forgotten Island.

Iza Calzado

Since her acting debut in 2002, Iza Calzado and has become one of the highly acclaimed actresses, producers, and models in the country. Known for her roles in film and television, including Encantadia (2005), Bliss (2017), and Milan (2004), she is a FAMAS and Gawas Urian awardee. Calzado is also the president of AKTOR – League of Filipino Actors, a non-profit organization that provides representation, welfare programs, and protection for Filipino actors. Beyond the screen, she is also a co-founder of She Talks Asia and advocates for mental health, body positivity, and women’s empowerment.

Mariana “Sam” Serrano

In the Philippines, Mariana “Sam” Serrano is one half of Studio Dalaga, a Manila-based film, art, and audiovisual practice. When it comes to films, Sam wears multiple hats as an actress, writer, and director, known for her performances in Dikit (2021), Elenita Elena Elaine (2025), and Surface Tension (2025), which won Best Short Film at the QCShorts Lokal section of the 2025 QCinema International Film Festival.

As an actress, Sam leans into the softness of her femininity as strength. “I’ve learned that it’s by leaning into these sensitivities, all the softness that comes with being a woman, and maybe all the other perceived weaknesses that are attributed to being a woman, it’s what helps us overcome these things,” she shares.

Gabriela “Gaby” Serrano

The other half of Studio Dalaga is Gabriela “Gaby” Serrano, a Filipina director and editor known for her work in Dikit, Surface Tension, and Mga Tigre ng Infanta (2022). As a filmmaker, she is interested in deeply introspective stories on women’s spaces in the Philippines. “I think directing is the single biggest test and motivator for a young, shy girl tos tep up and learn how to use your voice, because you’re placed in a position where you call the shots on everything,” she reflects on her own experience.

In the same way she overcame her shyness, she hopes more women will tell their stories. “I think it’s really important that we’re even more tenacious and willing to take up space individually,” she says. “As well as for other women in the industry, as well as women, young girls, and you know, trans people, non binary people, queer people, to create space for them and pull them up.”

Bianca Balbuena

Behind the films Filipiñana (2026), Sunshine (2024), Engkwentro (2009), and Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (2016) is Bianca Balbuena, a producer, writer, and COO of Epicmedia Productions Inc. She is also the youngest awardee of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) FIAPF Award for her contribution to Asia Pacific cinema.

When she was starting in the industry, she could only count on herself. “Back then, I wish I had someone to look up to, but really, it was just me. I was figuring this out myself. I was my own role model,” she says. Although she had wished that for herself, she advises aspiring filmmakers to listen to themselves. “Don’t listen to me. Don’t listen to advice. Just follow your heart, and I think love your craft. You do you, we’re all different.”

Jasmine Curtis Smith

In 2013, Jasmine Curtis Smith had her breakthrough with her performance in the independent film Transit (2013), and has since cemented herself in cinema with her roles in Baka Bukas (2016), Siargao (2018), Alter Me (2020), and In My Mother’s Skin (2023). For her role in Transit, she won Best Supporting Actress at the 2013 Cinemalaya Film Festival and the 2015 German Moreno Youth Achievement Award. Curtis is also a member of AKTOR, leading as the social media head of the organization. She is also a child rights advocate and has spoken out on issues such as body positivity, mental health, and active citizenship.

Anne Curtis Smith

Beyond film and television, Anne Curtis Smith has also as a recording artist, performer, and entrepreneur. As an actress, she has won several acting awards, including FAMAS and Metro Manila Film Festival awards. She is also the first Filipino celebrity to exceed 20 million Instagram followers in 2022, and the co-founder of the makeup brand BLK Cosmetics.

She is also a dedicated UNICEF National Ambassador, appointed in 2019, and has been an Advocate for Children since 2015. In her advocacy work, she focuses on child rights, early childhood education, immunization, and supporting children with disabilities.

Antoinette “Tonet” Jadaone

In 2024 and 2025, director Antoinette Jadaone sparked conversations about women’s and young girls’ bodies with her film Sunshine, which follows the story of a promising female gymnast facing a difficult choice after an unplanned pregnancy. The film won a Crystal Bear for Best Film at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the CIFEJ Prize (2025) and the Geber Award (2025).

But long before Sunshine, Jadaone had already established herself in local cinema with her comedies and indie films such as That Thing Called Tadhana (2014), Fan Girl (2020), Never Not Love You (2018), and Alone/Together (2019).

As a director who champions women’s stories, Jadaone believes that collective action is the way to progress. “The system wasn’t built for us,” she says. “We’ve been conditioned to compete for space that was deliberately made scarce for us. When we women choose each other, we stop playing by their rules. Let’s not just survive the system, let’s threaten it.”