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Director’s Profile

Rafael Manuel is a Filipino filmmaker currently based between London, Amsterdam, and Manila. Among numerous awards and prizes he has received across festivals around the world, his latest short film, Filipinana (2020), won Silver Bear for Best Short Film at Berlin International Film Festival 2020. He is currently developing his first two feature films: Filipinana, based on his short of the same title, with the support of Film4, the Cannes Cinéfondation La Residence, the Berlinale Script Station, Tokyo Talents, Oxbelly Labs, and the Locarno Filmmakers Academy; and Patrimonio, with the support of the Hubert Bals Fund and the Prince Claus Seed Awards. In 2022, Rafael was chosen by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke to be his protégé at the Rolex Arts Initiative. Rafael’s work in cinema has been featured by ARTE, the Criterion Collection, Variety, Screen Daily, Cineuropa, the New York Times, Forbes, and Vice.

Synopsis

The Alabang Country Club is a 74-hectare compound boasting enough facilities to keep the creme-de-la-creme of Philippine society distracted from and unaffected by the country’s many socio-political problems. Among these facilities is the driving range where Isabel (17) works. Isabel is a ‘tee-girl’ who spends her whole day teeing-up balls for golfers as they practice swinging their steel clubs just inches away from her face. Despite being new to the job, Isabel already finds herself indulging her curiosity and often escapes the driving range to explore the lush greenery of the surrounding golf course, which reminds her of the hometown she left behind.
Out on the golf course, Isabel encounters Dr. Palanca (60), the country club president. Isabel slowly develops an infatuation for the man who presides over the country club, and is eventually given an opportunity to meet him when tasked with returning one of his golf irons. Isabel wanders the various alcoves of the country club’s facilities in search of Dr. Palanca, but never seems able to find him. Instead, she uncovers a slew of situations involving country club members, employees, and a group of visiting Chinese tourists; tableaus that paint a clearer and more disenchanting portrait of the country club and Dr. Palanca. Eventually, Isabel realizes that what began as an innocent infatuation with Dr. Palanca is, in fact, rooted in a more sinister, shared history.

Achievements

2026 Sundance Film Festival - World Cinema Dramatic Competition
2026 Berlin International Film Festival

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