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Inspired by Jose Rizal’s third, unfinished novel, but ultimately a radical deconstruction, “Rizal’s Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge” is a silent film like no other, that recently won Best Feature Film ln Lausanne. Shot on expired film stock that was later hand-painted and scratched by Khavn, the result is a visual experiment that embraces chaos in every form.

The main story, though intentionally thin, revolves around three central figures. Agaton Damaso is a cruel Spanish priest, Simoun Rizal is a melancholic Filipino poet, and Sisa Bracken is an enigmatic American woman who serves as a source of conflict between the two men. Rizal is determined to write the ultimate Filipino poem, while Sisa searches desperately for her two lost children. Damaso’s oppressive presence looms over them until it vanishes in the most shocking manner. Meanwhile, Rizal’s epic poem unfolds visually on screen, interwoven with an ever-growing cast...

Sheila Francisco is magnificent as a grieving mother and retired screenwriter in this delightfully meta mash-up that pays homage to Filipino action films

Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature film debut (after making a bunch of shorts) is a total delight. A homage to the pulpy Filipino action films shot on video from the 1970s and 80s, this extremely meta, self-referential comedy-drama-thriller mash-up stars the magnificent Sheila Francisco as not especially well-off housewife Leonor Reyes. Leonor is living with her son Rudy (Bong Cabrera), a middle manager planning to emigrate – but she was once a successful screenwriter, a force to be reckoned with in Manila’s local film industry until a tragic on-set accident took the life of Rudy’s brother Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon), who as a ghost still haunts his mother’s house, sometimes visibly and sometimes not.

When Leonor notices there’s a screenwriting competition with a large...

It’s hard to encapsulate the half-sunny, half-funeral vibe of “Leonor Will Never Die”, a touching end-of-life drama that’s also a loving homage to kitschy Filipino action cinema. Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar pays tribute to her title character, a fictional Pinoy genre filmmaker who, at the end of her life, wakes up inside one of her unproduced screenplays.

Escobar’s debut feature frequently shifts between sad, dimly lit conversations with Leonor (Sheila Francisco) and her concerned loved ones, particularly her adult son Rudie (Bong Cabrera), and scenes within “Return of the Owl,” Leonor’s unfinished dream project, which follows the generic adventures of tough guy construction worker Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides).

Some psychedelic transitions, including trippy dream sequences and photo montages, help to establish the slippery nature of Leonor’s subjective reality. A few sequences from “Return of the Owl” also seem credible, but even they ultimately feel monotonous and...

Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) and Leonor (Sheila Francisco) in Leonor Will Never Die. Martika Ramirez Escobar: 'The presence of the ghost is inspired by a true story of my own grandma, who would say of her son, who did pass away, that she would sometimes feel his presence in her bed' Photo: Music Box Films The film within a film device is given a playful run over the jumps by Martika Ramirez Escobar in her debut Leonor Will Never Die, where even the ‘normal’ world has a touch of the supernatural. There might be a fear on the part of the viewer that Leonor (Sheila Francisco) won’t make it through the first five minutes of the film, let alone its entirety in what turns out to be a cleverly worked sight gag. She might look like your average gran but Leonor was once a famous action film director. Now,...

Leonor Will Never Die is a singular film experience. Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar has outdone herself in every way. The sheer amount of filmmaking efforts put forth is surreal in the best way. This is a movie that is doing everything and doing it well. Sheila Francisco is an absolute gem and the film lives and dies on her effortless lead performance. To say Leonor Will Never Die is making bold choices would be an understatement. One never sees the comedy coming, the film is gorgeous, and the script is easily one of the year's best.

Leonor Reyes (Francisco) is a celebrated filmmaker, but well past her prime. Though she still gets recognized by strangers and is known in her community, it has been years since she's actually written a script. Unfortunately, Leonor is more concerned with rewatching her old movies than she is with paying her electric bill, and...

There is a pretty good reason why Leonor’s TV is never switched off, although it might look strange that an old woman would prefer having action-packed movies playing all day long than watching, let’s say, some telenovela. This is of course the first thing coming to mind of an average person whose way of thinking is rooted in the prejudice that all that sweet old ladies are supposed to do is cook, tend to their homes, knit the pullovers that no one will ever wear, and wait for their grandchildren to come and visit. Leonor (Sheila Francisco) is not that kind of granny. The films running on the telly are her legacy. She is a retired Filipino action film scrip-writer and director, attached to the past but stuck in another life.

“Leonor Will Never Die“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Leonor stopped making films...

Films about filmmakers, both real and fictional, are all the rage right now. From Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Bardo” to Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” the fall movie season features some of Hollywood’s biggest directors releasing movies about the journeys that their profession has taken them on. The films cover a wide range of genres, from stark realism to the very weird, but few are as unique as “Leonor Will Never Die.”

Martika Ramirez Escobar’s feature directorial debut, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, blurs the lines between fiction and reality while honoring the rich history of Filipino action cinema. The movie tells the story of a retired filmmaker who ends up as a character in her own unfinished screenplay after a falling television hits her on...

"Do you think Ma will wake up if we make her movie?" Music Box Films has debuted a second trailer for the indie Filipino action comedy Leonor Will Never Die, opening in the US this November. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January, and just screened at the Toronto Film Festival, too. A one-of-a-kind film about film from the Philippines!! Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a TV lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. Starring Sheila Francisco as the amazing Leonor, with a fun cast including Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Rea Molina, and Anthony Falcon. "An innovative blend of pulpy action homages, playful comedy, and touching family drama, Leonor Will Never Die is a wonderfully imaginative tribute to the art of filmmaking." This trailer is a slightly different cut from the one last month,...

The official trailer release for HBO’s latest documentary, “A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting” arrives amid wide-spread conversation of continued anti-Semitism in the media and just a week after Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar year. But the film’s impact is intended to reach beyond the community it reflects by informing viewers about the heart-wrenching tragedy that occurred four years ago in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania.

On Oct. 27, 2018, a white supremacist attack targeted the congregation at Pittsburgh synagogue, resulting in the death of eleven people and injuries to six others — some of whom were Holocaust survivors. The unprecedented violence was considered to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.

“The days when synagogues just leave their doors open — I think those days are gone,” one interviewee comments in a voice-over featured in the trailer.

Both powerfully profound and deeply disturbing,...

When you think of action stars, what names come to mind? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Jean-Claude Van Damme? Casper Van Dien? These are all great examples, but there's one up-and-coming star that might outshine them all, and her name is ​​Sheila Francisco. While that might not be a name many Americans will recognize, genre fanatics will certainly get to know the Filipino singer after "Leonor Will Never Die," which was programmed at the Toronto International Film Festival under its Midnight Madness banner.

Martika Ramirez Escobar's directorial debut is not unlike other movies that pay homage to other movies. Of course, it can't be compared to more dramatic fare like the similarly TIFF-bound "Empire of Light," but it does stand as a love letter to the action movies of yesteryear. However, what makes "Leonor Will Never Die" so engaging is its central story, which centers around the titular Leonor Reyes (Francisco) and...

"You can't wake up someone who is not asleep." Music Box Films has revealed an official US trailer for an acclaimed indie film from the Philippines titled Leonor Will Never Die, which will be out later this year. It originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January, but it's also about to show at the Toronto Film Festival this month - hence the new trailer arriving now. You've never seen anything like this!! Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a television lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. Starring Sheila Francisco as the amazing Leonor, along with a fun cast including Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Rea Molina, and Anthony Falcon. "An innovative blend of pulpy action homages, playful comedy, and touching family drama, Leonor Will Never Die is a wonderfully imaginative tribute to the art of filmmaking.

Martika Escobar takes a playful approach to the idea of a film within her film in her freewheeling debut feature that sends up Filipino action hero tropes at the same time as celebrating family connection. Leonor (played with adorable verve by Sheila Francisco) is an ageing mum, who it turns out was once a hot-shot action film director. Her glory days are in the past, however, in a life marked by the tragedy of losing her eldest son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) - whose ghostly figure pops up to have a series of drily amusing conversations with various family members including Leonor's younger son Rudie (Bong Cabrera).

Rudie has a fractious relationship with his mother, not least because she keeps forgetting to pay the electric bill, but also because he is on the verge of moving out. When Leonor sees an advert for a screenplay contest, she decides to dust...

There is a pretty good reason why Leonor’s TV is never switched off, although it might look strange that an old woman would prefer having action-packed movies playing all day long than watching, let’s say, some telenovela. This is of course the first thing coming to mind of an average person whose way of thinking is rooted in the prejudice that all that sweet old ladies are supposed to do is cook, tend to their homes, knit the pullovers that no one will ever wear, and wait for their grandchildren to come and visit. Leonor (Sheila Francisco) is not that kind of granny. The films running on the telly are her legacy. She is a retired Filipino action film scrip-writer and director, attached to the past but stuck in another life.

“Leonor Will Never Die” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Leonor stopped making films after...

Leonor Will Never Die Review — Leonor Will Never Die (2022) Film Review from the 44th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar, starring Sheila Francisco, Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, and Anthony Falcone. This film has the remarkable distinction of seamless overlapping narratives that neither muddles nor fragments any of them. Sheila [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Leonor Will Never Die: Retired Successful Screenwriter Lives Last Creation to the Max [Sundance 2022]...

There is a pretty good reason why Leonor’s TV is never switched off, although it might look strange that an old woman would prefer having action-packed movies playing all day long than watching, let’s say, some telenovela. This is of course the first thing coming to mind of an average person whose way of thinking is rooted in the prejudice that all that sweet old ladies are supposed to do is cook, tend to their homes, knit the pullovers that no one will ever wear, and wait for their grandchildren to come and visit. Leonor (Sheila Francisco) is not that kind of granny. The films running on the telly are her legacy. She is a retired Filipino action film scripwriter and director, attached to the past but stuck in another life.

Leonor stopped making films after her beloved son Ronwaldo was accidentally shot as a child on the...

From its opening minutes, Martika Ramirez Escobar’s meta-prank “Leonor Will Never Die” aims to scramble the viewers. Leonor Reyes (Sheila Francisco), an elderly retired action film director in Manila who, the title assures us, must have some claim to immortality, pads into view from the knees-down and steps onto a trunk – the universal film cliché for suicide. Not so fast, but it is true that awful things have happened to Leonor. Her ex-husband Valentin (Alan Bautista), a former movie star, has left. Her favorite son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) is dead. And her least-favorite son Rudie (Bong Cabrera) is hounding her to pay the electric bill, which is three months past due and would have already been shut off if Leonor hadn’t helmed the meter reader’s mother’s favorite shoot-em-ups.

If life was one of Leonor’s films, she could write a happy ending. Instead, Leonor consoles herself...

Like Loy Arcenas, Maribel Legarda has several years' worth of theater experience to guide her first foray into filmmaking. Unlike Arcenas, whose first film is from an original screenplay by Rody Vera, Legarda chose to adapt for the screen an award-winning stageplay by Allan Lopez. Interestingly, Nino, Arcenas' first film embraces theatricality, limiting most of its moments within the striking dialogues spewed by the characters with such exaggerated extravagance. Legarda's Melodrama Negra, on the other hand, abandons theatricality in favor of gloss, spectacle and other cinematic excesses. Remnants of the material and Legarda's stage roots linger, creating an uneasy mix of both theatrical and cinematic excesses. Melodrama Negra opens with three wandering ghosts (Gee Canlas, Gerald Napoles and Bong Cabrera), wondering what they need...

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