Best Filipino documentary movies

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.

When a teenager from a political family in the Philippines is accused of a double murder, the country’s entire judicial system is put to the test after years of alleged corruption.

In the Philippines, women get deployed abroad to work as domestic workers or nannies. In one of the many training centers dedicated to domestic work, a group of trainees are getting ready to face both homesickness and the possible abuses lying ahead during a series of role-playing exercises.

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.

When Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, is brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine, three women intimately invested in the case--an activist attorney, a transgender journalist and Jennifer's mother)--galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of US imperialism.

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.

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.

GMA Public Affairs' first-ever investigative docu-film, “Lost Sabungeros,” delves into the unsolved disappearances of sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) in 2022.

“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.

Kayleigh Haywood, a teenage girl addicted to social media, meets a stranger online who lures her into a trap.

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.

Vizconde Massacre -the trial of the century, Flor Contemplacion's story, the case that outraged Filipinos, and more horrifying deaths. Cheche Lazaro's Probe Archives goes in-depth on the controversy behind the gruesome crimes that shocked the entire country during the 90s.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Mixes mythology, animation, and documentary to tell the story of a country plunged into darkness by a serpent hungry for power, whose only hope is the light people bring to fight against it.

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.

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.

This is the exclusive and untold story of a small band of men who overcame incredible odds and hunted Marwan - the Bin Laden of Asia. At dawn on January 25, 2015, thirteen men of the Special Action Force (SAF) attacked the hut where Marwan lived in Mamasapano. The SAF successfully terminated him. This documentary gives us unprecedented access to OPLAN EXODUS, the special operation that took out one of the FBI's most wanted. With never before seen interviews, footage of the actual fighting itself, and dramatic reenactments by elite members of the Special Action Force, we reveal the men mourned by an entire nation. We discover the impact of the SAF's work, and the significance of eliminating the terrorist, Marwan - the man behing the Bali Bombing, the Australian Embassy Bombing (2004) and the JW Market & Ritz Calton Bombing (2009) And in the end as 44 caskets were laid to rest we ask, was it all worth it?

Filmed in 2024, the documentary will follow BINI in their attempt to break into the global market and will show never-before-seen footage from BINIverse concerts in the United States and Canada, as well as their homecoming concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

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.

Still Here, Still Walking is a diary film about the contradictions that the filmmaker continues to face as an activist struggling between mental health issues and political work. It goes from her experience as a naive art student from a school founded by the Marcoses to her participation in the mass movement, which eventually overlaps with conflicts with her family, her studies, her organizations, and herself, ending in a wavering “revolutionary optimism”. While the work is mostly self-reflections, it is an attempt to view these subjective emotional experiences through impersonal and political lens. It delves not just into the psyche of the self, but also of the depressed and deprived masses who, despite it all, continue to seek out an alternative to this rotten system and build a better life grounded in communal support.

Gin, Red Horse, Empi - the 3 basic needs of the Nomo Kween herself, Stella Salle. Redefining who is and should be a woman in this world full of - zzzzzz PARUSSAAAA!?!?!!

The film documents the development of the martial arts of eskrima, tracing its origins from the tribal warfares of the Philippines to its practice among international martial artists. It include interviews with grandmasters Ciriaco “Cacoy” Canete, Dionisio Canete, and Undo Caburnay, and participation of groups such as Doce Pares, Lapunti Arnis de Abanico, Teovel’s Balintawak, Nickelstick Balintawak, and Liborio Heyrosa Decuerdas, in reenactments.

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.

The tale of an activist’s journey during the turbulent years of Martial Law, until his capture in the mountains and the dark, nine years of imprisonment that followed, leading to his birth as a poet.

“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.

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

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.

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.

VMX crush Dyessa Garcia takes fans through the sizzling hot journey of one of VMX’s original A-listers – AJ Raval going all out in her most unforgettable and daring scenes.

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.

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

Making-of documentary about Lino Brocka's 1975 film "Manila in the Claws of Light," featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

Across a white void, old documents and items come to life and speak: a cacophony of archival sounds and voices of youth growing up in an elite all-boys' private Catholic high school in the Philippines bursts through as the country undergoes great change and political turmoil. Navigating these systems of influence, power, and control, both the documents and repressed voices seek their own means of liberation.

Image production is fiction-weaving. Together with Sheena Absalud, we spent an entire day in Pride Month in my room documenting ourselves using different cameras: three mobile phones, one action camera, one CCTV camera, and one laptop, while asking each other questions about our asexuality. Recognizing the role of the moving image in constructing prejudice, self-identity, and desires, and therefore the expansion of neoliberalism, "The Function of Fiction" attempts to abandon temptations to define “asexuality” and its place in the context of “LGBTQIA+”, in pursuit of new socialities and possibilities. Music in the film was spawned with plants and machines.

It is about the story of the final days of Aquino from 12 August 1983 to 21 August till he was assassinated at the Manila International Airport. It features interviews and commentaries from Aquino's wife and former Philippine president, Corazon Aquino.

This video focuses on Dumagat activists, Nanay Nene, Tatay Lope, and Chieftain Rodrigo and their continuous struggle to organize resistance against a Chinese-funded mega dam in Quezon. The Kaliwa Dam Project will displace numerous Dumagat and non-Dumagat families living near the dam site— yet another example of development aggression.

What does it really take to breastfeed and sustain life in the Philippines? In spite of the key legislations on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding in the Philippines, it has remained one of the top nations with the least number of exclusively breastfed children, and still has a stigmatised breastfeeding culture. "Hakab" explores the narratives of mothers in the Philippines coming from different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds braving the challenges of a repressed breastfeeding culture in the Philippines.

The Philippines is visited by an average of 20~28 strong typhoons and storms every year. It is the most storm-battered country in the world. Last year, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), considered the strongest storm in history, struck the Philipines, leaving in its path apocalyptic devastation.

Keep the fire burning. No one wants a swift climax. But how to keep the flicker and not let the passion wither? After the smashing success of Sex Guru, Hotbabe Asia Agcaoili returns with a hot new lesson plan. The provocative follow up will satisfy those urges you've always wanted to express but simply too shy to expose. Learn new stuff such as Kegels, pelvic stretches the butterfly and other "sexercises" guaranteed to improve your sexual performance. Master the art of ancient of positions such as the canine connection, the pretzel logic, the T and Yawning that will put a new spin to your sexual reverie. Discover new ways to fiddle with gadgets and tinker with "G" spots. It's an explosive curriculum from start to finish

Dory is about a 101-year-old trans woman who walks around the streets of Tondo, Manila where she works as a beautician. As she faces her twilight years alone, she ponders whether her long life is a gift from God or a curse.

A professional horror movie extra prepares for her first ever acting award nomination.

With 12M+ fans, VMX turned up the heat in 2024 with record-breaking, steamy films from top Filipino directors, starring your fave crushes and fresh faces. Join Robb Guinto & Apple Dy as they dive into the hottest scenes that left us sweating!

A documentary about a gay nightclub performer with an especially lurid "Spider-man" act. Oliver is a female impersonator who supports his family by performing in Manila's gay bars.

Myles is a woman in need of sexual healing until she comes across an erotic email sent to her. Echo is a sexually active email sender in search of the ultimate amorous encounter. While in hot pursuit to unravel the identity of her erotic e-mate, she's also bound to discover her hidden carnal creature- her sexual alter ego. As the two become constant chat mates, Myles' lust is finally re-awakened. Aided by the four fundamental elements: fire, water, earth and air, the two delve into amorous experiences far beyond their wildest dreams.

Behind the crown and beyond the glamour, ambitious hopefuls chase their Miss Universe Philippines dreams, facing fierce competition and great sacrifice.

Inspired by a trip to Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation while en route to the Telluride Film Festival, Tahimik and his eldest son Kidlat Gottlieb Kalayaan use the "spaghetti machine" (Tahimik's nickname for his Bolex camera) to make their own "spaghetti western." The decade-long path of the film encompasses the assassination of Benigno Aquino and the subsequent Yellow Revolution that brought Corazon Aquino to power, the decommissioning of the US air base Camp John Hay, and the younger Kidlat's trajectory through school, all shown through a Third World Projector salvaged from a junk pile on Navajo land.

In 1988 and 1989, the late Cesar Hernando, writer Ian Victoriano and I started a series of interviews of LVN actors, directors and technicians with the intention of publishing a book on the story of LVN Pictures, one of the major studios of the studio era. One of our interviewees was the great character actor, Joseph de Cordova. In 2006 I made a short documentary using excerpts from that thoroughly engaging interview and included it as an added feature to the privately authored DVD of “Biyaya ng Lupa,” where Joseph plays Bruno, one of the actor’s most memorable roles.

Despite contentions from historians, legend has it that in ancient times, an Ati chieftain traded their land to Bornean datus for a necklace and a wide-brimmed hat made of gold. The mountains were left to the Atis, while the plains and rivers went to the Malays. Today, even the mountains are under threat, sometimes violently taken from the Atis.

A documentary on the rise and fall and recent return of sexy movies in Philippine cinema. Featuring interviews from the sexy movie icons of the past and the rising sexy stars of the present.

A documentary film about a student filmmaker struggling with depression, expressed in the medium she loves the most.

"Batas Militar" is a definitive documentary about martial law under the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

Forced to find a job as his family's breadwinner Noy (Coco Martin) poses as a journalist commissioned to come up with a documentary following the campaign trail of his namesake and top presidentiable bet Sen. "Noynoy" Aquino for the 2010 Philippine National Elections.

Reyboy's world is the sparkling ocean, the hidden treasures on the long coast, the taste of honey rice. The filmmaker accompanies the Filipino boy in his fishing village by the sea as his life is about to change forever.

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

Thanks to his fierce reputation as an aggressive left-handed slugger and his status as a two-time world champion, diminutive Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao is recognized as one of the hardest punchers in any weight class and a bona fide national hero. Incorporating footage from his most memorable fights, this inspiring documentary chronicles his rise from humble beginnings to unprecedented fame beyond his wildest dreams.

With his love for music, an old man at Recto Avenue in Manila continues to sell physical CDs and DVDs in the age of digital streaming. As he keeps his passion alive, he also keeps physical media an art form and a culture worth-preserving.

Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok unravels the multiple layers of the almost mythological figure-living legend, Fang Od, a 92 year old woman who has been called the ‘Last [Traditional] Tattoo Artist of Kalinga.’ The first layer of the story is the one she is most famous for-being a tattoo artist. At her eyes, she continues to exhibit sharpness and precision in the very demanding art and skill of tattooing. The second layer shows her many stories as woman who has reached the age of looking back. She regales us with stories of her many suitors, of her youth, the dancing and the feasts. She also looks back with not just a tinge of regret that she never married nor had children of her own. Her body covered in tattoos is a landscape on its own mirroring the map of a woman who has chosen wittingly or unwittingly a road diverging from convention and in the process became a culture-bearer.

An unfinished documentary by the late great film critic and historian Agustin "Hammy" Sotto. Hammy passed away in 2001 at the age of 51

The lives of random children from different parts of the Philippines, facing the same predicament of living life of arduous labor to cope with the harsh realities of poverty.

Get ready for a wild ride! Join VMX's crush, Stephanie Raz, as she spills the tea on Azi Acosta's most jaw-dropping and sizzling scenes from her hottest movies. You won’t want to miss this!

Sarah is a debt collector who lives among the inhabitants of the village of Guimbal on the island of Panay. She wants to find the young man who appeared to her in a dream and goes to the island of Negros. Here, as she interacts with the inhabitants, Sarah continues her search, gathering memories of life and war, dreams, myths, legends, songs and stories that she takes part in and at times revolve around her. She is the daughter of an ancient mermaid, a revolutionary, a primordial element, a virgin who was kidnapped and hidden away from the sunlight. “The film is a retelling of fragments of the American occupation. Dialogue, shot in the Hiligaynon language, is not translated but used as a tonal guide and a tool for narration. Using unscripted scenes shot where the main character was asked to merely interact with the villagers, I discard dialogue and draw meaning from peoples’ faces, voices, and actions, weaving an entirely different story through the use of subtitles and inter-titles.”

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