Women in Film: Add These Filipino Movies to Your Watchlist

For as long as cinema has entertained audiences, there have been Filipina actresses who have led or been featured in movies that have been adored, admired, and inspired generations. No matter the era, there will always be women who have helped define what it means to perform. This is why MEGA celebrates actresses past and present in our special June 2026 issue.

From icons who paved the way, contemporary stars dominating the industry, and rising actresses to watch for, the issue spotlights some of the many Filipinas who have made Philippine cinema what it is and continue to shape it. Between these talented ladies are hundreds of films that have earned their place in local entertainment and culture. They are all worthy of a watch, but below, we rounded up some of the highlights and notable projects starring many of the issue’s featured women, all of which were recommended by them, that deserve a spot on your Filipino movie watchlist.  

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Barbie Forteza – Mariquina

This 2014 Cinemalay Entry is set in two different timelines and follows a Marikina shoemaker’s daughter who deals with the grief of losing her father after he took his own life. Barbie Forteza plays the younger version of the daughter, Imelda, and earned rave reviews from critics. The role also garnered Forteza the Best Supporting Actress award in the New Breed Category of the 10th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

Bela Padilla – 366

Over the past years, Bela Padilla has expanded her resume to include directing and writing. It’s in that context that she holds her directorial debut, 366, in high regard. As her first feature project, Padilla had to deal with all sorts of issues, including being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder she kept private at that time. But she and her team made it work, and the result is a deeply personal movie that inspired Padilla to continue making movies that resonate with her and her audience.

Cherry Pie Picache – Bridal Shower

One of the most gifted character actresses of her generation, Cherry Pie Picache is no stranger to critically acclaimed performances. And among her best is her turn in Bridal Shower, a 2004 film starring Picache, Dina Bonnevie, and Francine Prieto as three women working at an advertising agency who confront their complicated lives. The performance earned Picache a Best Actress award at the 2004 Gawad Urian.

Another highlight in Picache’s filmography is Foster Child, a drama where she plays a temporary foster parent taking care of a foster child named John-John before he’s turned over to his adoptive parents. Earning glowing reviews for her moving portrayal, Picache received accolades from multiple local and international organizations, such as Best Actress at the Durban International Film Festival in 2008.

Dawn Zulueta – Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit

Whether it be 1991 or 2026, this Filipino adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Dawn Zulueta and Richard Gomez has stood the test of time. The movie, which is notable for its use of real-life locations such as Batanes in lieu of the Yorkshire moors, follows Gabriel, who is adopted by the wealthy Don Joaquin Salvador and lives with his two children, Carmina and Milo. Gabriel and Carmina, this version’s Heathcliff and Catherine, grow up to become close friends. However, this spurs jealousy from Milo, this version’s Hindley.

Making matters worse, Gabriel and Carmina grow distant when Milo takes over the family house, and Carmina marries Alan Illuste, the movie’s version of Edgar Linton. When Gabriel returns, he and Carmina embark on a forbidden romance filled with tension, baggage, and unresolved feelings.

Dina Bonnevie – Orapronobis

Dina Bonnevie has worked with many icons in Philippine cinema over the decades. But it’s her collaborations with legendary director Lino Brocka that stick out to her as a moment where she learned so much about acting, both as a craft and a tool for social change.

She highlights the movies Orapronobis, which follows a former priest who becomes disillusioned with a post-Marcos Sr. dictatorship Philippines, and Gumapang Ka sa Lusak, a drama about the misdeeds of a powerful couple, as projects where she realized that acting can be a powerful platform to talk about issues that society tries to sweep under the rug. As much as movies are for entertainment, Bonnevie sees film as also a way to expose harsh truths and realities.

Eugene Domingo – Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank

With so many iconic roles under her belt, Eugene Domingo has been in her fair share of memorable movies. But Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank remains a standout, both for audiences and the actress herself. The satirical comedy starred Domingo as a parody of herself as she works with a group of aspiring filmmakers who hope to make a movie for international recognition. The movie’s success turned it into a franchise, with a sequel in 2016, a third project in the form of a series a few years later, and, most recently, a fourth entry as a musical in 2026.  

Gabby Padilla – Billie & Emma

Billie & Emma is considered by many as one of the top modern queer Filipino movies of the 2010s. It’s also a project Gabby Padilla sees as a highlight of her career because of the film’s impact and how it helped put her on the map as an actress. Another highlight starring Padilla to have on the watchlist is the highly underrated Kono Basho, an entry into the 2024 Cinemalaya Film Festival that tells the story of two half-sisters who reunite at their father’s funeral in Japan.

Gina Alajar – Moral

When asked about her career highlights, Gina Alajar couldn’t just mention one film, which goes to show her acclaimed filmography featuring some of the best Filipino movies ever made. Internationally, her films Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim and Ora Pro Nobis were recognized by the Cannes Film Festival. Meanwhile, films such as Manila by Night, Brutal, Salome, and Moral aren’t just cornerstones of Philippine cinema, but also notable in how they discuss realities and hard truths that were seen as taboo at the time, while connecting them to women-centric stories.

Iza Calzado – Starting Over Again

Starting Over Again isn’t just the movie that gave us the iconic Iza Calzado Mama Mary meme, but it also features one of Calzado’s most loved performances. For the actress personally, she sees the rom-com as a project that reminds her how mainstream love stories, when done right, can heal hearts. Also, don’t sleep on Calzado’s work in the horror genre, such as in 2004’s Sigaw, which was remade as The Echo in 2008, and 2017’s Bliss, an experimental psychological horror that showcased Calzado in a whole new light.

Jasmine Curtis-Smith – Transit

For Jasmine Curtis-Smith, the film Transit is special to her for a variety of reasons. Not only does it feature one of the best performances of her career, but it was also the movie that helped solidify the actress as someone who could stand on her own without having to rely on her last name.

In it, Curtis-Smith plays Yael, an Israeli-Filipino child of an OFW who faces deportation as her father tries to hide her from the authorities. The movie was critically acclaimed, with Curits-Smith taking home Best Supporting Actress at the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, which was the first major acting award of her career, while the film was the Philippines’ entry to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Maricel Soriano – Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit

In Soriano’s storied legacy, few projects stand out quite like Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit from 1984. The drama sees the Diamond Star play Clarissa Rosales, an ambitious goddaughter who uses her relationships and connections to get what she wants. Not only does the film feature a standout turn from the award-winning actress, but it was also notable in breaking barriers by featuring a complex female main character who didn’t adhere to the standards of that time.

Maris Racal – Sunshine

In a growing filmography that already has its fair share of scene-stealing roles, Sunshine stands out as a career-defining performance for Maris Racal. It starred the actress as a gymnast and aspiring Olympian who discovers that she’s unexpectedly pregnant. What happens next is a harrowing journey of a young woman who goes to great lengths to deal with the pregnancy. Aside from the inspired performance by Racal, the movie is also a worthy watch for its honest look at the state of women’s healthcare in the Philippines and its themes of bodily autonomy.

Meryll Soriano – Donor

Meryll Soriano’s ability to bring to life all kinds of women with their own story to tell is one of the reasons why she’s considered one of the most talented names in the industry. In particular, her work in independent films is home to some of her best performances. Among the highlights are her award-winning performance as Lizzie in Donor, which follows a woman who enters the world of organ donation for a chance at a better life, Rotonda, and In Da Red Korner.

Mylene Dizon – Gatas: Sa Dibdib ng Kaaway

From mainstream projects to indie films, Mylene Dizon shines on screen. And in her filmography are movies that deserve to be talked about beyond local cinephile circles. One such movie is the 2001 war drama Gatas: Sa Dibdib ng Kaaway, which starred Dizon as Pilar, a Filipina who serves as a nurse to a Japanese General’s son during World War 2. The two begin an affair, which causes her to become increasingly isolated from her rebel husband and the townspeople.

Notably, the movie was chosen as the Philippines’ entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2001 Oscars. Another highlight is 100, a drama and 2008 Cinemalaya favorite, about a terminally ill woman with cancer who only has 100 days to live and uses that time to accomplish a series of tasks and goals.  

Rio Locsin – Manila by Night

Rio Locsin’s filmography is filled with some of Philippine cinema’s most acclaimed movies, particularly with her collaborations with celebrated director Ishmael Bernal. One of those that deserves a watch is Bernal’s masterpiece Manila by Night. The movie is remembered for many reasons, such as its focus on the seedy side of Metro Manila, which was in direct conflict with the censorship prevalent during the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.

Other films featuring Locsin and directed by Bernal to have on the watchlist are Salawahan, a highly quotable sexy comedy about two cousins who switch places for their courtship strategies, and Working Girls, a genre-defining workplace comedy that follows a group of women working in Makati.

Shaina Magdayao – Tanging Yaman

For over 30 years, Shaina Magdayao has been working in the industry as she climbed the ranks from child star to leading lady. But even if she didn’t have formal training when she started acting, Magdayao showed promise early on. Such was the case when she was cast in Tanging Yaman, the seminal family drama from 2000. Even though she was a supporting character in a stacked cast, Magdayao considers it a career highlight and a project she will always cherish.

Zsa Zsa Padilla – Magkano ang Iyong Dangal

Most may know Zsa Zsa Padilla as a singer, but she is also a gifted actress, and the one movie she considers a highlight in that regard is Magkano ang Iyong Dangal, a 1988 romantic drama by Laurice Guillen and an entry to that year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. In it, Padilla plays Era, a married woman dealing with an unfaithful husband while also committing adultery herself. The committed performance required Padilla to dig deeper into her craft, and looking back, she considers the film the moment she realized she had the capabilities to be a serious actress.  

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Featured Image: MEGA Archives, Photographed by JERICK SANCHEZ. Creative Direction by PATRICK TY. Art Direction by CLARE MAGNO and BRIE VENTURA. Beauty Direction by AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON assisted by MARA GO. Sittings Editor PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO and TREISHA ROVERO. Produced by THESSMAR LECTURA. Image retouching by JONES PALTENG and TROY NONATO. Hair by MATT LEDESMA assisted by GABRIEL GARCIA. Makeup by MIKE LARIOSA. Styled by KAT CRUZ-VILLANUEVA. Production Design by ARJ MADARANG of JAGGER STUDIOS. Photography Assistants KARL RIMANDO, BUDDY REYES, DAVE ORPILLA, and RYAN ALBANO