Best Filipino documentary movies

Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi (1996)

Kidlat Tahimik, a director and performer, sought to recreate relations between the body and filmed image seen through "Asian eyes." This groundbreaking project took the form of a documentary which Mr. Tahimik directed and in which he performed himself in order to show his own thinking about the different views of the body held by the "East" and the "West."

intimacy (0)

intimacy can cause a lot of misinterpretation, confuse us, and make our lives complicated.

BINI Chapter 2: Here With You (2024)

After the road to success shown in the first chapter, "BINI Chapter 2: Here With You" explores BINI's regional tour and their encounters with Blooms across the Philippines.

Sarah Geronimo: This 15 Me (2019)

Celebrating 15 years in showbiz, powerhouse vocalist Sarah Geronimo performs original hits and contemporary favorites at the Araneta Coliseum.

Festival in Rhythm (1960)

After a series of successful concerts at the Araneta Coliseum in May 1960, American pop singer Neil Sedaka was contracted by LVN Pictures to appear in a musical featurette called “Festival in Rhythm.” The film was shown as an added attraction to “Dahlia” which was released in July. “Festival in Rhythm,” originally shot in color, was a compilation of musical numbers featuring LVN stars and singing and dancing talents leading up to Neil Sedaka. The only surviving print is a black and white workprint from the color original. Since black-and-white positive film stock was not full-color sensitive, warm colors (like skin tones) print dark, hence the dark complexion of the actors in the film.

Happy Days Are Here Again (1974)

A compilation of film clips featuring dance and song performances culled from various films of the so-called big three - Sampaguita, LVN, Premiere.

Jose Rizal: Ang buhay ng isang bayani (1996)

Jose Rizal: Ang buhay ng isang bayani: Directed by Butch Nolasco. With Joonee Gamboa.

Travelers (2023)

The diaspora of Filipinos around the globe is driven mostly by the economics of supply and demand. The yearning for something better, stability, and self-validation leads a handful of sojourners from the provinces of the Philippines into the arms of one of its former colonial masters — the USA. But what happens when they finally get what they want? And how? Filmmaker Dennis Empalmado explores the musings of Filipino expatriates and hopeful immigrants in "Naglalakbay" (Travelers).

La Sombra: Ang Anino (1966)

Live Show Best Of 1 And 2 (2023)

Turn your fantasy into reality, A wild version of your favorite influencers that will surely give you pleasure you are dreaming of. Stream at liveshow.ph on March 2, 2023.

Kasama Kang Tumanda (2024)

A filmmaker follows her grandparents’ daily life after her chain-smoker and alcoholic grandmother is forced to stop drinking beer for a month.

All This Wasted Space (2024)

The search for a burial token for her mother forces a woman to dig up a buried past and confront the house she abandoned for 11 years. As she descends, the house speaks to her.

Kid Kulafu (2015)

Before he became one of the world's greatest boxers, Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao was a young boy living a hand-to-mouth existence, trying to survive from one day to the next. When he discovers his natural talent for boxing, he embarks on a brutal and intense journey that takes him from the mountains of the Philippines to the streets of Manila, and must risk everything to become a champion - for himself, his family, and his country.

ALON: A Documentary on Plastic Waste (2020)

The film is an exploration of the various ways of mitigating the catastrophic effects of marine plastic waste as seen from the perspective of different surfing communities in the Philippines.

Bontok, Rapeless (2014)

Two Filipina victims of sexual abuse search the truth behind the finding of a renowned anthropologist: that merely a few generations ago, the Bontok Igorot lived in what seems an unthinkable utopia—a rape-less society.

Traslacion: Ang Paglakad sa Altar ng Alanganin (2015)

“Traslacion: Ang Paglakad sa Altar ng Alanganin” focuses on four LGBT couples and their stand on equality and the right to marry. This documentary addresses their complicated quests in defining themselves within a conservative society.

A Remembering of Disremembering (2020)

Told through the tales of love of a retiring film projectionist and a late-blooming actress, the short documentary delves into the journey of Manila’s oldest movie theater from grandiosity to obsolescence.

Docwomentary: Women Behind the Lens (2019)

A filmmaker explores why women are at the forefront of documentary filmmaking in the Philippines by chronicling their narratives of struggle and victories as they navigate the masculine filmmaking industry. Throughout the film, she discovers her own reflexivity as a filmmaker but most importantly, as a woman.

Bullet-laced Dreams (2020)

Bullet-laced Dreams follows the Lumad children in Mindanao as they escape from military rule due to the incessant armed conflicts between the government & communist rebels. Rising tensions pushed these kids to transfer from place to place just to continue their schooling. The conflicts separated 14-year old Chricelyn Empong from her family, but she vows to fight for her right. In the evacuation site, Chricelyn & her classmates continue studying and protest for the end of martial law so they could go to back to their homeland. She says the only way to regain their way of life is to defend their right to education.

On the President's Orders (2019)

The searing story of President Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war - the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum. Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings. The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace - and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue.

The Nightcrawlers (2019)

The Nightcrawlers provides unprecedented access to the the Manila Nightcrawlers as they look to expose the true cost of Filipino President Duterte’s violent war on drugs.

Manoro (2006)

The mountain-dwelling Aetas have been forced to settle in the lowlands by the sudden eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. With their settlements being closer to the government-funded schools of the Kapampangan townships, the Aeta children now have the opportunity to study. Jonalyn, one of the elementary school graduates of the ceremony depicted in the confused introduction and an Aeta, seeks to teach her elders to read and write a day before the National Elections. With Jonalyn's effort, the Aetas, for the very first time, have participated in the democratic process that has existed in the Philippines since the early part of the 20th century.

Taon Noong Ako'y Anak sa Labas (2008)

Filmmaker John Torres describes his childhood and discusses his father's infidelities.

Beyond Nothing (2020)

A resolute man unapologetically abandons his first-born, believing that it was the right thing to do. Many years later, an inquisitive documentary filmmaker interrogates him.

Squatterpunk (2007)

Hapon is an 8-year-old survivor in the slums of modern Manila, scratching out an improvised existence at the margins of society. This rawly shot documentary follows Hapon and his mates as they swagger around their dilapidated universe. Featuring a punk-rock score by director Khavn's band the Brockas, the film captures a carefree spirit in the children that completely belies the squalid conditions in which they live.

Budots: The Craze (2019)

“Budots” has swept the entire nation by storm. But the dance craze that has people move around in uncoordinated, freestyle dance to a weird mix of electronic sound and noises, originated in Davao City in Southern Philippines before it got viral in the Internet and social media. An internet bum and a small group of people in his community started it all.

Come to Me, Paradise (2018)

Paraiso, an all-seeing drone spirit, is summoned every Sunday into the heart of Hong Kong where Filipina migrant workers gather to socialise. As the women claim the public space, Stephanie Comilang’s sci-fi documentary considers social connections in today’s age of economic migration and modern technology.

Himala Ngayon (2012)

A 2012 documentary about the making and the legacy of the 1982 drama masterpiece directed by Ishmael Bernal that ended up being one of the greatest Asian films of all time. The revelations about the theory of "Who killed Elsa?" will be answered and also, the impact of the film to the Filipino culture and society.

To Calm the Pig Inside (2020)

A contemplative film on the effects a typhoon leaves on a seaside city in the Philippines. Myths are woven in to try to understand how people cope with the devastation and trauma. A girl’s voice divulges bits and pieces of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experiences she felt visiting this ravaged port city.

All Grown Up (2018)

After years of nurturing and protecting her younger brother, a filmmaker is forced to question her ability to help the people she loves when her own daughter begins to have troubles of her own.