Filipiñana Brings a Tee-Girl's Country-Club Nightmare to UK Cinemas

BFI Distribution is putting Rafael Manuel's debut feature Filipiñana into UK cinemas on 20 November 2026, with BFI Player following on 4 January 2027. The film already has a Sundance badge: it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at Sundance 2026.

According to the BFI, Isabel is a 17-year-old from the rural north of the Philippines who works as a tee-girl at an elite country club outside Manila, lining up golf balls for powerful men. She wanders the grounds, samples the club's luxuries and, when she tries to return a mislaid club to director Dr. Palanca, finds something rotting under the fairways. Jorrybell Agoto plays Isabel, with Carmen Castellanos and Teroy Guzman among the cast.

The film is a Singapore, UK, Philippines, France and Netherlands co-production, runs 100 minutes and is certificate TBC. Early UK screenings listed by the BFI include BFI Southbank, The Garden Cinema, the ICA and Rio Cinema in London on 20 November, with Sheffield's Showroom, Warwick Arts Centre and Bristol's Watershed on 21 November.

Manuel's camera stays with the staff rather than the members. The fairways look less welcoming that way.