As the Philippines celebrates Women’s Month this March 2025, the spotlight turns to the silver screen, where Filipino women—both behind and in front of the camera—have long been weaving tales of resilience, defiance, and triumph.
Philippine cinema, a vibrant tapestry of stories, has often placed women at its heart, not as mere muses but as forces of nature challenging norms, breaking ceilings, and redefining power.
From pioneering directors to unforgettable characters, here are 12 remarkable moments when feminine power became the focal point of local filmmaking, proving that the Filipina spirit is as cinematic as it is indomitable.
1. Atang de la Rama in Dalagang Bukid (1919) – The First Leading Lady
The dawn of Philippine cinema arrived with Dalagang Bukid, directed by Jose Nepomuceno, often hailed as the “Father of Philippine Cinema.” But its beating heart was Atang de la Rama, the first Filipina film actress. Playing a sampaguita vendor forced into an unwanted marriage, de la Rama brought a raw, soulful energy to the silent screen, her expressive eyes speaking volumes. Later crowned a National Artist for Theater and Music, she set the stage for women to claim their space in Filipino storytelling—a legacy that echoes over a century later.
2. Lino Brocka’s Insiang (1976) – A Woman’s Revenge Unleashed
Directed by the legendary Lino Brocka, Insiang stormed onto the scene as the first Filipino film showcased at the Cannes Film Festival. Hilda Koronel’s portrayal of Insiang, a young woman in Manila’s slums, is a slow burn of rage and retribution. Trapped by poverty and patriarchy, she transforms from victim to avenger, orchestrating a chilling payback against her abusers. Brocka’s unflinching lens, paired with Koronel’s haunting performance, turned this tale into a timeless cry against oppression, cementing women’s voices in the fight for justice.
3. Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Moral (1982) – Sisterhood in Chaos
Marilou Diaz-Abaya, a powerhouse in Filipino cinema, crafted Moral as a love letter to women’s complexities. This provocative drama follows four friends navigating love, betrayal, and societal expectations. With a powerhouse cast—Lorna Tolentino, Gina Alajar, Sandy Andolong, and Anna Marin—Diaz-Abaya peeled back the layers of the modern Filipina, revealing their struggles and solidarities. Her fearless storytelling earned her multiple Best Director accolades, proving that women could command both the narrative and the director’s chair with equal brilliance.
4. Laurice Guillen’s Tanging Yaman (2000) – A Matriarch’s Grace
Laurice Guillen, a protégé of Brocka, gifted audiences Tanging Yaman, a family saga anchored by Gloria Romero’s portrayal of a steadfast matriarch. As she holds her fracturing clan together, Romero’s character radiates quiet strength, embodying the Filipina as the glue of tradition and resilience. Guillen’s sensitive direction swept awards, including Best Director nods from FAMAS and Gawad Urian, showcasing how women’s stories could heal and inspire across generations.
5. Antoinette Jadaone’s That Thing Called Tadhana (2014) – Heartbreak as Liberation
Antoinette Jadaone redefined the rom-com with That Thing Called Tadhana, where Angelica Panganiban’s Mace turns heartbreak into a journey of self-discovery. Opposite JM de Guzman’s Anthony, Mace’s emotional trek through Sagada’s misty mountains became a cultural phenomenon, blending wit, vulnerability, and empowerment. Jadaone’s fresh take on love and loss made her a household name, proving that women could lead—and heal—on their own terms.
6. Dwein Baltazar’s Oda sa Wala (2018) – Solitude’s Silent Power
Dwein Baltazar’s Oda sa Wala is a haunting meditation on loneliness, with Marietta Subong (Pokwang) as Sonya, a reclusive woman tending to her father’s corpse in a funeral parlor. Subong’s understated yet piercing performance captures a woman wrestling with isolation and agency. Baltazar’s minimalist direction amplifies Sonya’s inner world, offering a stark, beautiful portrait of feminine strength in the face of despair—a testament to the depth women bring to cinema.
7. Irene Villamor’s Ulan (2019) – Myth and Modernity Intertwined
Irene Villamor’s Ulan casts Nadine Lustre as Maya, a dreamer caught between folklore and reality. As she navigates love and self-realization, Lustre’s radiant vulnerability shines, while Villamor weaves a narrative rich with rain-soaked symbolism. This enchanting tale of a woman finding her voice amid chaos showcases how Filipina directors can blend tradition with contemporary empowerment, leaving audiences spellbound.
8. Anne Curtis in BuyBust (2018) – A One-Woman War
Directed by Erik Matti, BuyBust thrusts Anne Curtis into the gritty chaos of Manila’s slums as Nina Manigan, a relentless PDEA agent battling drug lords. Far from a damsel, Curtis’s Nina is a whirlwind of fists and fury, shattering stereotypes of women in action films. Her visceral performance, paired with Matti’s relentless pacing, redefined the Filipina as a warrior—proof that power isn’t gender-bound.
9. Martika Ramirez Escobar’s Leonor Will Never Die (2022) – A Director’s Dreamscape
Martika Ramirez Escobar burst onto the global stage with Leonor Will Never Die, a surreal gem that won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award at Sundance—the first for a Filipino filmmaker. Sheila Francisco stars as Leonor, a retired action director pulled into her own script’s world. Escobar’s playful yet poignant tribute to cinema and resilience celebrates women as creators and dreamers, blending nostalgia with fierce originality.
10. Alessandra de Rossi in Ka Oryang (2011) – A Revolutionary Spirit
Sari Dalena’s Ka Oryang brings Alessandra de Rossi as Oryang, a student thrust into the deep chaos of the Martial Law. Her journey from innocence to defiance mirrors the unsung heroines of Philippine history. Dalena’s stark, poetic direction honors women’s roles in resistance, while de Rossi’s fiery portrayal burns fervidly with purpose—a cinematic nod to the Filipina’s unbreakable resolve.
11. Joel Lamangan’s Mila (2001) – Maricel Soriano’s Unbreakable Stand
In Joel Lamangan’s Mila, Manila’s streets pulse with protest—placards slap the air, dust chokes the throat—as Maricel Soriano’s Mila, a schoolteacher, strides through the fray. Her voice, rough with conviction, rallies her fellow educators, her chalk-dusted hands trembling not from fear but fury. Inspired by Anita Pamintuan’s real-life fight for teachers’ rights, Mila’s world smells of sweat and ink, her eyes blazing as she faces hunger strikes and heartbreak. Lamangan’s lens zooms in on Soriano’s every shudder, her performance a raw, roaring tribute to women who battle for justice, her spirit a beacon that refuses to dim.
12. Mike de Leon’s Sister Stella L. (1984) – Vilma Santos as a Rebel Nun
IThe streets of Manila rumble with unrest—jeepney horns blare, tear gas stings the air, in Sister Stella L. Vilma Santos’s Sister Stella Legaspi, a nun with a conscience, steps from the convent’s hush into this maelstrom, her habit billowing like a battle flag. Her voice rises above the chants, steady and sharp, urging striking workers to stand tall. De Leon frames her against barbed wire and smoke, her eyes fierce with faith and fury. This isn’t piety—it’s revolution in a wimple, Santos’s Stella a Filipina who trades prayer for protest, her resolve a clarion call that still reverberates.
These films and their creators—directors like Diaz-Abaya, Jadaone, Baltazar, Villamor, Escobar, and Dalena, alongside artists like de la Rama, Koronel, Romero, Santos, Soriano, Panganiban, Subong, Lustre, Curtis, Francisco, and de Rossi—paint a vivid picture of feminine power in Philippine cinema.
They’ve turned the lens on women not as ornaments but as architects of change, their stories pulsing with defiance, grace, and grit.
As Women’s Month 2025 unfolds, these cinematic milestones remind us: the Filipina’s voice isn’t just heard—it roars, reshapes, and inspires, frame by fearless frame.
