Leonor Will Never Die (2022)
Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar Run Time: 99 min. Release Year: 2022
Starring: Anthony Falcon, Bong Cabrera, Rea Molina, Rocky Salumbides, Sheila Francisco
Country: Philippines
Language: Filipino, English
About the film:
Winner, 2022 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for Innovative Spirit
Winner, 2022 Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award
Leonor Reyes was once a groundbreaking figure in the Filipino film industry during its ragtag action cinema glory days, but now she struggles with old age and mounting bills. While revisiting an unfinished script about a fearless protagonist trying to avenge his brother’s murder, Leonor is struck on the head by a falling television set and knocked into a coma. As she lays unconscious in the hospital, fantasy and reality begin to blur when Leonor finds herself awake inside her script, becoming the hero of her own story.
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.
“establishes writer/director Martika Ramirez Escobar as an artist with a singular voice and bright future in halls of weird cinema”
—Marya E. Gates for Roger Ebert
About the filmmaker:
Martika Ramirez Escobar is a writer, director, and cinematographer based in Manila. Most of her works are reflections on her relationship with cinema. After she graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines, her 2014 thesis film Pusong bato (“Stone Heart”) competed at the 19th Busan International Film Festival. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents Tokyo, Asian Film Academy, and is a recipient of the Purin Pictures Film Fund. For her 2022 feature film debut Leonor Will Never Die, Escobar was awarded the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the Amplify Voices Award at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, and Best Director at the 2022 Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival.
See our upcoming films