Filipiñana

Under the blazing sun, inexperienced 17-year-old Isabel works at a golf course. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dr Palanca, the chairman of the exclusive golf club, yet senses something sinister lurking behind the immaculate façade. Filipiñana was originally the graduation project of Filipino director Rafael Manuel, with which he won the jury prize for best short film in Berlin in 2020. Six years later, Manuel returned to the Berlinale with this feature-length debut of the same name, built around the same story. The longer running time allows him to test the elasticity of the deceptive calm associated with the luxury sport, set to the unhurried pace of hitting a ball. Underpinned by the exceptionally controlled cinematography, the calm of this microcosm conceals class divides in the Philippines, an uneasy tension, and traces of their colonial history. So subtle that it deliberately remains almost invisible.