If you want to know who the next big names, future stars, and potential leaders in cinema are, it’s not just those leading the major blockbusters. Oftentimes, talent can be found in film festivals, short movies, and independent platforms. They may not make the most noise, but it’s in these spaces where the future of Philippine cinema is at, or at least creatives who deserve the attention for their potential.
Such is the case with Filipina director and editor Gabriela Serrano. While the creative from Las Piñas City may not be a household name yet, those within local film circles see her as part of the next generation of young creatives taking women’s stories to new frontiers with their craft and voice, and she has the accolades to show for it.
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A Filmmaker Finds Her Voice
Serrano, who is a SGIFF Southeast Asian Film Lab Fellow, a BIFAN Asian Discovery awardee, and a Ricky Lee Scriptwriting Workshop alumna, got her start in the industry through post-production, specifically as a colorist. As her creative career continued, she soon became part of the crew for a few films and shows, often serving as an editor, something she holds a great passion for and still does to this day with her own movies. The Multimedia Arts graduate even served as an editor on FX’s Independent Spirit Award-nominated series The Choe Show.
But filmmaking would soon find Serrano, and her journey began with the late great Jose Nepomuceno. In 2021, the Film Development Council of the Philippines held its Mit Out Sound Silent Film Competition. The FDCP put out a call for pitches to remake classic Filipino silent films. Together with her sister, Mariana Serrano, the two crafted a story based on Nepomuceno’s The Manananggal, which is noted as being the first Filipino horror film and the first local movie to use practical effects. Despite there being no existing copies of the film, she and her sister, who co-wrote and starred in the movie, made it work.
A highlight was how Serrano shifted the portrayal of the manananggal from an evil woman to more of a misunderstood creature. The end result is the female-focused and Filipino folklore-centric Dikit. The silent short film followed a young woman, who so happened to be a manananggal, longing for a new body. When a new couple moves into the neighborhood, she sees her chance but finds herself dealing with some complicated feelings.
Upon its premiere at Mit Out Sound in late 2021, the movie received critical praise, with many complimenting the film for its queer feminist take on a character that is often depicted as one-dimensional. Despite having zero dialogue, the short movie said so much.
The accolades soon followed, with the film taking home Best Film and Best Director at the 2021 Mit Out Sound Silent Film Competition. It was also screened at international film festivals such as the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Queer East Film Festival, and Singapore International Film Festival before being acquired by the Criterion Collection for streaming on the platform, an impressive feat for a debut short. In 2022, Dikit was included in that year’s Cinemalaya short film line-up, where it took home the Special Jury Prize for short feature, and Serrano won Best Director for a short feature.
Four years later, she would score Cinemalaya success again with her short movie Elenita Elena Elaine, which took home Best Director in the Short Film category. If you’re keeping score, that 2-0 for Serrano at Cinemalaya. The 2026 entry stars Agot Isidro, Gabby Padilla, and Mariana Serrano and centers on three interconnected storylines. The first is a pop idol preparing for her final TV performance, the second is a young woman packing her things to work abroad, and the third is a call center agent who gets lost in the mundanity of her work.
Based on Serrano and her mother’s own experiences-that being an editor for an American TV series for the former and a call center agent for the latter-Elenita Elena Elaine blends dystopian sci-fi with dream-like visuals for a non-linear short film about a mother and daughter navigating dreams, ambition, and unspoken connection.
Championing Women on Film
With further success in other prestigious local festivals such as a win for Best Short at the QCShorts Lokal at QCinema in 2025 for the film Surface Tension, working with women-led production houses STUDIO DALAGA and Street Woman Productions, and the recipient of international grants for her projects, Serrano has been building a strong resume, one that is unapologetically open about its focus on women.
Watch any of Serrano’s films, and it’s clear how she champions women’s stories and the many introspective conversations that can be brought about by what it means to be a Filipina. She reshapes and even challenges the way we view womanhood through structure and genre, which feels even more meaningful during a time when women and those on the margins are still subject to a patriarchal society in and outside of cinema.
Her work is both personal and imaginative, making for films that are visually interesting and thematically relatable. This female filmmaker is one to watch with how she’s making space for stories, narratives, and tales that deserve to be told and putting women and the marginalized at the forefront.
Up next for Serrano is her upcoming full-length feature debut, Please Bear With Me, a science fiction movie set in a call center. While it’s still in development, the movie has already earned pitch awards from the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) Montréal, and the Southeast Asian Film Lab.
Featured Image: PUSTNIK (via Instagram), Photographed by Adi Bulboaca
Photos: GABRIELA SERRANO (via Instagram), RICHARD BOLISAY (via Instagram)
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