Rafael Manuel’s ‘FILIPIÑANA,’ a Decolonial Class Satire, Opens at Film Forum - Friday, Aug. 28, at Film Forum in New York City.

 

Rafael Manuel’s ‘FILIPIÑANA,’ a Decolonial Class Satire, Opens at Film Forum

Executive produced by Jia Zhangke, the Sundance-winning Filipino drama begins its U.S. theatrical run Friday, Aug. 28, at Film Forum in New York City.

Rafael Manuel’s debut feature, “FILIPIÑANA,” will have its U.S. theatrical premiere Friday, Aug. 28, at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street in Manhattan.

Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, the sharply stylized drama follows Isabel, a 17-year-old newly hired “tee girl” at an exclusive country club outside Manila.

Moving through manicured golf courses, pastel-colored pavilions and rigid workplace rituals, Isabel observes the uneasy relationship between the club’s wealthy members and the employees expected to serve them without question. When she attempts to return a lost golf club, she begins to uncover the violence, exploitation and institutional patriarchy concealed beneath the resort’s pristine surfaces.

With its meticulously composed imagery, choreographed movement and deadpan humor, “FILIPIÑANA” examines class inequality, colonial power and the treatment of women inside a luxury environment that increasingly resembles a plantation.

The film had its world premiere at Sundance before screening in the Perspectives section of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. Manuel’s previous short films have screened at Locarno, Rotterdam and FIDMarseille, and one received a Silver Bear at the Berlinale. He was also the final film protégé selected for the Rolex Arts Initiative, where he was mentored by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, an executive producer on the film.

“FILIPIÑANA” stars Jorrybell Agoto as Isabel, alongside Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Angeli Bayani, Nour Hooshmand and Isabel Sicat. The 100-minute film is presented in Filipino, English and Ilokano with English subtitles and is distributed by Kino Lorber.

“FILIPIÑANA” opens Friday, Aug. 28, at Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street in New York City.