“SISA,” the upcoming film which marks the acting comeback of Hilda Koronel, will have its world premiere at the 29th Talliinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia this coming November.
“Sisa’s” world premiere was announced by Jun Robles Lana on X on Friday, Oct. 10, saying he is “deeply excited” for the audience to see how much the crew had worked on it. He also shared a glimpse of the film’s teaser, showing Koronel as the titular character.
“I’m immensely proud to share that our film, ‘Sisa,’ starring the legendary Hilda Koronel, will have its World Premiere in the Official Competition at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival this November. It took an extraordinary team to bring this film to life, and I am deeply excited for them, and the world, to finally see it,” he said.
With “Sisa” and “Call Me Mother” (Lana’s Metro Manila Film Festival 2025 entry starring Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre) in mind, the filmmaker said both films are an ode to motherhood and a portrayal of how “courage [deserves] to exist.”
“I didn’t realize until this year that the two films I was making centered on motherhood, although in radically different forms. With one film, we explore a motherhood defined by sacrifice, not biology. With SISA, we explore the mothering of a nation: the fierce, necessary commitment to teach our people how to resist and survive,” he said
“Both are stories about the fight to be seen and the courage to exist. I couldn’t be more excited for everyone to witness the journeys of my two mothers soon,” he continued.
The film’s upcoming premiere was also echoed by its production company, The IdeaFirst Company, in a separate post.
“Hilda Koronel’s much-awaited return as SISA. A film by Jun Robles Lana. World Premiere in Official Competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival this November,” the post read.
According to the film festival’s website, “Sisa” is set in the Philippines in 1902, where widows, including Sisa, “fill the villages” after the war.
“Beneath the rags and ramblings, Sisa hides a secret: she is a spy. A survivor. A mother robbed of everything but rage. Haunted by visions she cannot silence, she begins to lead a quiet revolt – gathering women who, like her, have been pushed to the margins. As betrayal coils around her, Sisa walks the line between memory and madness, asking what it takes to rise when the world has already buried you,” the film’s logline reads.
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from November 7 to 23. (Hannah Mallorca © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
