It has been selected as this year’s entry to the annual major entertainment award.
On Sunday, September 13, the Film Academy of the Philippines formally announced that Filipiñana was seected as the country’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category of the 99th Academy Awards.
The said flick, which was created by Rafael Manuel, was selected by a committee composed of Filipino film industry experts approved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and convened by the Film Academy of the Philippines.
According to the FAP, in a statement, the committee considered the integrity of the film, the producers’ commitment and capacity to fulfill the requirements of the Oscars campaign, and the film’s ability to embody the pride of Philippine cinema.
Moreover, “the committee also recognized the film’s strong visual style but more importantly its incisive examination of class, power, labor, and social realities, as well as its growing international profile.“
The team also evaluated the previously announced eight shortlisted movies based on artistic merit, cultural relevance, and international campaign potential.
Director-General Paolo Villaluna expressed his message to the team behind Filipiñana on their selection.
“The film offers a visually distinct and controversial portrait of the Filipino experience: through the eyes of a young Filipina at an elite country club, the film exposes the structural violence, class disparity, and post-colonial inequities that persist even now beneath a meticulously manicured surface of privilege,” he noted.
The official also said that the movie’s growing international critical recognition affirms both its artistic merit and its “capacity to carry a Filipino story rooted in universal questions of power, identity, and survival to a global audience.”
Villaluna also said that the Film Academy will work closely with the Filipiñana team throughout its campaign and assured the provision of the support they need and make the most of this opportunity for Philippine cinema.
Speaking on behalf of the team, lead producer and Epicmedia Productions Inc. COO Bianca Balbuena expressed: “I hope all this awareness and acclaim can take us far. It is a steep climb to the shortlist but we are a whole village and we’ll be toiling tirelessly.”
She also cited that the Filipiñana team has been working hard since the festivals such as Sundance and Berlinale.
“We have the support of Oscar winners- Film4 (Zone of Interest, Poor Things) and US distributor Kino Lorber (Mr Nobody Against Putin). In New York, it is Film Forum’s biggest opening weekend performer of the decade and has risen to 141% on its second week at the US box office. Our UK distributor BFI will release the film in UK theaters in November,” she said.
Part of the cast of Filipiñana are Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Isabel Sicat, and Nour Houshmand.
According to the FAP, the selection also kivks off the campaign for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category of the 99th Academy Awards.
In previous years, the Philippines has also submitted entries to the said award category, with the three most recent being Iti Mapukpukaw (2024), And So It Begins (2025), and Magellan (2026). However, neither of the movies landed a spot in the official list of nominees.
As per the schedule provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the shortlist comprising 15 films in said category will be announced on Decemeber 15, followed by the five nominees on January 21, 2027.
The 99th Academy Awards ceremony, meanwhile, will take place on March 14, 2027 at Dolby Theater in Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, Australia announced the Philippine-Australian film First Light, which is top-billed by Ruby Ruiz and Maricel Soriano, as theur entry to the same category.
