Sunshine

Sunshine is on the verge of joining the national gymnastics team and going to the Olympics, when she loses focus, careens off balance, and falters. Dreams nearly in her grasp shift to distant phantoms as she realizes she is pregnant. Shaken, fearful, desperate, and determined not to lose her rightful place on the national team, Sunshine searches the underground of the city for abortifacients. Abortion and even divorce are illegal in the Philippines, so Sunshine has few options and few people she can trust. Just then a mysterious young girl appears in the darkness and crowded streets with knowledge of Sunshine's heart that surprises her and touches her deeply.

"I wanted to be brave for these girls," said Maris Racal (Sunshine) "who have no one else to turn to." Racal is intrinsically believable in her role. In the conservative religious culture of the Philippines and with the lack of access to reproductive support, many girls are in crisis. The issue is relatable and timely not just in the Philippines, but in many other countries including, unfortunately, our own.

At this world premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Antoinette Jadaone said she got the idea for an imaginary friend from the film Jojo Rabbit. As part of her film research Jadaone interviewed girls who had abortions. She hopes the film sparks conversations and change, that it is part of the solution for the country, and helps girls in such situations make their own decisions.

"Sunshine" is not just the greatest Filipino movie I've seen but one of the most important Filipino films of all-time! This film deals with controversial topics in our society, abortion and teen pregnancy.

A week of national tryout for the gymnast, Sunshine (Maris Racal) finds out that she's pregnant. Conflicts arise as she has to decide what to do next. In between life and dreams, what's the most significant between the two?

The film is unconventional at best. This is not your usual and average Filipino drama you'll see. It's a character study about a teenager who is on the down side of her life. We follow her journey through this life and see a glimpse of her life dealing with her problem.

Maris Racal defines this film as Sunshine. Her acting here is brilliant. She's perfect for this role. Jennica Garcia surprised me. Her character as Sunshine's sister marks! What she said to Sunshine near the ending, though it's common, is like a punch to tears! I ended up loving her character. Jennica Garcia deserves an award for being the best supporting actress for this role. Another cast that standout is Rhed Bustamante and Xyriel Manabat both deserve a recognition for their role.

Blurring between reality and fantasy, mostly this film is realistic in portraying the whole theme thanks to Direk Antoinette Jadaone directions. Also, the cinematography is the best!

Overall, "Sunshine" is a women's movie. It's timely, affecting and brave to its theme. It doesn't spoon feed. It will make you immersed and think. It's worth an experience. This is a rare Filipino movie I've seen! I'm glad and proud watching this in cinema. After watching "Sunshine", it leaves me with a question, "Is abortion a choice if your greatest dream will compromise?"

We watched Sunshine yesterday, July 24, during the block screening at SM Megamall. I had seen the trailer beforehand, so I knew we were in for something bold, something necessary. But I wasn't prepared for how deeply it would sit with me long after the credits rolled.

I didn't cry while watching the film, but once it ended, I found myself overwhelmed. The weight of Sunshine doesn't hit all at once - it lingers, it settles. And it stays.

At its core, Sunshine is the story of a woman taking control of her body in a society that keeps telling her she isn't allowed to. It's not simply about one choice, one moment, or one woman. It's about the collective experience of many Filipinas who navigate a system that consistently fails to hear them.

Antoinette Jadaone's direction doesn't shy away from discomfort. She faces it head-on, inviting the audience to confront the silences we've learned to live with - about abortion, reproductive rights, the stigma around sexuality, and the lack of access to informed sex education in the Philippines.

Sunshine is timely, urgent, and painfully real. It gives voice to the cry of our generation, echoing the need for progressive reforms that protect women and children. The film challenges its viewers not just to empathize, but to act.

As a viewer, I left the cinema not only moved, but also awakened. Sunshine isn't here to entertain. It's here to disturb, to provoke, and to push us into uncomfortable yet necessary conversations.

To my fellow Filipinos: let's not turn away. Let's create spaces where women can speak freely, where choices about their bodies are met with compassion, not judgment. Let's demand that our lawmakers stop treating reproductive health as taboo.

To filmmakers and storytellers: keep telling these stories. We need more films like Sunshine-bold, unapologetic, and grounded in truth. The personal is political, and cinema has the power to move both heart and policy.

Let Sunshine be a beginning. Let it be a spark. And let's keep the conversation going.

It follows a young gymnast who discovers she is pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts. On her way to a seller of illegal abortion drugs, she meets a mysterious girl who eerily talks and thinks like her.

Dude the cinematography and camera angles in this trailer is what I have been wishing Philippine Cinema would have already been by now. Not the disappointing films they keep hyping and giving fake accolade.

Finally, a realistic story, not about kabit, poor/rich love story, badings. This is a realistic struggle of teen pregnancy in the Phil.

Sobrang deserve ni Maris makakuha ng maraming awards sa acting! Ang ganda! Ang galing!

This is the sunshine the country needs in today's climate.

It was Jadaone's courage that popped in my head when the title card flashed, a very Filipina name that connotes brightness and warmth - two things the film was not intended for, two things the titular character deprived of.

Sunshine is a story of every Sunshine, a Filipino woman vulnerable to systemic injustice and oppression; a story no one could have been told better than a Filipino woman herself - and a fearless and intelligent one at that. From reproductive health and general health care system to conservatism, Jadaone's care and spirit championed. Her personification of one's conscience was beautifully done. I sobbed through the last 15 minutes.

True-to-life darkness in the country executed from the literal streets to the contexts of quality of life through Orendain's realism. There's a harrowing frame in the movie that ticked all my boxes as a fan of dark cinematography. I bled in the dark with Sunshine right there.

This film boasts a talented bundle of actresses: Meryll Soriano, Annika Co, Xyriel Manabat, Jennica Garcia, with Maris Racal tying the ribbon, flexing her acting muscles across different tones and needs. Well-written and well-directed performances with standouts coming from Garcia, Co, and Racal. Ah, women.

Malalim. Matapang. Mahalaga. Hindi ako babae pero gets na gets kita, Sunshine.