Despite how loud some people can get about it, women’s stories will always matter. And this Women’s Month, it hits doubly so, given how important a role the screen has in championing all kinds of women. For decades, Philippine cinema has been home to stories that inspire with their portrayals of extraordinary women and empowered characters who live their lives beyond what society deems them to be. While local entertainment isn’t immune to stereotyping women, there are films that move beyond storytelling; they highlight the strides women have made throughout history, both on and off camera.
Some are timeless classics, while others just entered the modern discourse, but they all offer compelling Filipinas and stories that tackle timely topics and contribute to the experiences of women. Dozens of Filipino movies champion women’s empowerment, and below, we curated some of our favorites you should give a watch this Women’s Month and beyond.
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Sunshine – Her Body, Her Choice
Antoinette Jadaone is no stranger to championing women in her stories. Her 2020 film, Fan Girl, tackled fandom and idolizing celebrities through a feminist lens. But Sunshine is arguably her bravest effort, and one of her best. The movie tells the story of a 19-year-old aspiring Olympic gymnast named Sunshine (Maris Racal) who has to deal with the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. Throughout its brisk runtime of an hour and a half, we follow a young woman who has to salvage her life in a country that turns reproductive health into a moral issue instead of a healthcare issue, doesn’t prioritize proper secular sex education, and where women’s choice and bodily autonomy are often disregarded.
Sunshine gets dark, but it also doesn’t leave its viewers feeling like nothing can be done about it. At its core, the movie wants you to know that kindness does exist. It finds the hope and compassion in it all, whether that be in other women or in yourself. There is power in dreaming and working towards a better life for yourself despite the odds.
Insiang – A Feminist Classic
Fifty years later, this Lino Brocka masterpiece still finds an audience with its story that feels relevant even in the 2020s. Insiang (Hilda Koronel) is a young woman given a bad hand in life. Living in poverty and abused by her father, Insiang has nowhere to go to escape her torment. But over time, she finds the courage and bravery to fight back as she seeks revenge against the people who wronged her. When some would have you think that it’s wrong for women to be strong, Insiang shows us the power in reclaiming your life while laying bare the realities of living in the slums.
Liway – The Strength of Motherhood
Beyond being inspired by the experiences of director Kip Oebanda’s parents when they were arrested during Martial Law,Liway shines in how it’s also a tale of a mother’s strength and sacrifice in raising their child. This 2018 Cinemalaya entry follows an 8-year-old kid named Dakip who grew up in Camp Delgado, a prison camp housing rebels during the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. In the face of the harsh realities of being political prisoners, Dakip’s mom, Liway (Glaiza de Castro), strives to give Dakip as normal a childhood as she can and protect his innocence in a world that seeks to destroy it.
It’s a somber story of how the courage and hope of motherhood can still shine even during the darkest times. The film is not only a love letter from Kip to his mother, but to every mother who endures all odds for their children.
Babae at Baril – Give This Girl a Gun
With the way the world can be, sometimes you just need to give a woman a gun. Or at least, that’s the premise of this award-winning drama-thriller from director Rae Red. Here, Janine Gutierrez plays a saleslady referred to as Babae who finds a gun on the street. With the firearm in her possession, she realizes how much power she now has in the face of constant harassment and the sobering realities of being a working-class woman in the Philippines. Female rage against a male-dominated society takes center stage here as the main protagonist serves as a stand-in for many women who have to put up so much just to go about their day.
Moral – The Changing Times
Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya and writer Ricky Lee were truly ahead of their time when they made this coming-of-age film in 1982 that tackled the changing morals of the period. The second of the director’s trilogy of feminist movies, the first being Brutal and the third being Karnal, Moral tells the story of four young women, Joey, Maritess, Sylvia, and Kathy, who just graduated from college.
Through their adventures, we see them navigate life post-university and deal with the many issues facing young women when they enter the “real world”. The film was groundbreaking then in how it handled issues such as gender inequality, female friendship, and womanhood, and it serves as a reminder today of how far we’ve come, and how much more work still needs to be done.
Die Beautiful – Living a Beautiful Life
We all want to live the lives we want, even if it has to be in death. That’s the thesis Die Beautiful from director Jun Robles Lana operates on. It follows Trisha Echevarria (Paolo Ballesteros), a trans woman who’s both a beauty queen and a mother. When she suddenly passes, her friends dress her up as different celebrities each night of the wake as they look back on the life she lived. In the movie, we learn of Trisha’s heartbreaking story and how she made something out of herself in the face of hate and harassment from her family and society for wanting to live as a woman.
This award-winning film is funny, tender, and beautiful in its discussion of the struggles of trans women and is up there with other Filipino LGBTQIA+ films, such as Mamu: And a Mother Too, that remind us that trans women are women, too.
Flower Girl – What It Means To Be a Woman
This irreverent comedy centers on Ena (Sue Ramirez), a commercial model who seemingly has it all. But one day, she mocks a trans woman, who also so happens to be a trans fairy, for using a woman’s restroom. For her transgression, Ena is cursed as she loses her vagina, and the only way to get it back is if she finds genuine love before all the petals of a magical flower falls off. In a country that often treats discussions of sex and gender as taboo, Flower Girl openly combats the stigma as the main character confronts her own biases and what it means to be a woman that goes beyond typical gender norms.
Bata, Bata Pa’no Ka Ginawa – Yes to Proper Family Planning
This adaptation of the late and great Lualhati Bautista’s novel from Chito Roňo follows Lea Bustamante (Vilma Santos), an activist who grapples with the challenges of raising her children as a single mother while working at a women’s crisis center. Through her job, she teaches women proper family planning and empowers them to make the right decisions. At the same time, Lea has to deal with a society that often pushes back at women who challenge conventional family structures. Even though the book and the movie are decades old, they are still impactful with their discussion of what remains a divisive topic to this day.
Barber’s Tales – Support Women-Owned Businesses
In a patriarchal society, women are expected to embody stereotypical roles such as being the housewife and homemaker. But in Barber’s Tales, the acclaimed movie takes a sledgehammer to that idea and instead focuses on what happens when a woman takes over a male-dominated space. In the movie’s case, that’s a barber shop, which sees Marilou (Eugene Domingo) take over her dead husband’s job as a barber in a small rural town during Martial Law. As the town’s only barbershop that used to be run only by men, the store becomes a vocal point of empowerment for Marilou as she navigates her male clientele and the wider political climate of the time.
Ka Oryang – A Woman’s Place in Society
This Martial Law-set film centers on Oryang (Alessandra de Rosi), a student at the University of the Philippines. Through rural immersions, she gets exposed to the harsh realities many Filipinos faced during the time, which leads her to rebel and help those fighting back against the dictatorship. Her decision leads her down a path of self-discovery that challenges the definition of women and how they are supposed to act in society. The film highlights the role women played during this dark period and spotlights how women can go above and beyond what society dictates them to be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sunshine is the premier choice, as it directly explores a young athlete navigating unplanned pregnancy and reproductive healthcare challenges within a conservative Philippine societal landscape.
Lino Brocka’s Insiang remains a foundational masterpiece because it depicts a marginalized woman reclaiming her power and actively fighting back against systemic poverty and domestic abuse.
Die Beautiful addresses trans empowerment by showcasing the enduring resilience of a transgender beauty queen who maintains her dignity despite pervasive societal prejudice and familial rejection.
Motherhood serves as a symbol of resilience, as illustrated in Liway, where a political prisoner actively protects her child’s innocence during the dark Martial Law era.
Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Moral is groundbreaking because it candidly examines gender inequality, complex female friendships, and rapidly evolving social norms for college graduates during the early 1980s.
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