Netflix‘s library of Filipino movies has grown significantly, with the streaming giant even helping local filmmakers to produce and put out their films for audiences in the Philippines and beyond. You can browse entirely and keep up with the indie-ish to the mainstream ones that we, Filipinos, are very proud to showcase.
Take a look at these award-winning films that you must include on your watch list:
PAN DE SALAWAL (The Sweet Taste of Salted Bread and Undies)
This film tells the story of the homeless girl Aguy who wears underwear over her head, and her newfound friend, the baker Sal who suffers from a kidney ailment. Pan De Salawal won awards at the Cinemalaya Film Festival 2018. It also won the Best Film and Best Screenplay awards in the Low Budget Category of Spain’s Calella Film Festival.
FAN GIRL
Starring Charlie Dizon and Paulo Avelino, Antoinette Jadaone’s Fan Girl swept 9 awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival 2020. The film revolves around a teenage girl who gets to spend a night with her celebrity crush, but would soon discover the dark reality behind the revered star.
BUY BUST
This Erik Matti’s action flick with social commentary follows the PDEA agent Nina Manigan and her squad as they go on a mission to infiltrate the heart of Manila’s dangerous slums and capture a high-profile drug lord.
BuyBust won Best Picture and three more prizes at the 2019 Gawad Urian Awards.
BIRDSHOT
This Mikhail Red’s film won the Critics’ Choice Award at the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2017, and also took home prizes from the Tokyo International Film Festival and ASEAN Film Awards. The film follows the teenage farm girl who mistakenly shoots down an endangered Philippine Eagle. As authorities investigate the incident, a more horrific crime comes to light.
KALEL, 15
Bagging awards from the Asian Film Festival 2020, Gawad Urian Awards 2020, FAMAS Awards 2019, this film tells the story of Kalel, a teenage Catholic boy who has a troubled parentage. When he is diagnosed with HIV, Kalel’s world proceeds to fall apart when his mother leaves him while his sister stays with her junkie boyfriend. He then meets with his father, who gives him money so he could live on his own, but Kalel had other plans.
ISKA
Iska bagged awards at the 2019 Cinemalaya festival, as well as prizes from multiple local and international award-giving bodies. The film follows Iska, an employee at one of UP’s photocopying centers, who faces the challenges of life head-on to provide for her autistic grandson.
