Rafael Manuel’s indie feature “Filipiñana” uses a prestigious Philippine golf resort to examine entrenched inequality, colonial legacies and the concentration of power among the elite. The film follows Isabel, a 17-year-old provincial worker, whose growing awareness contrasts with Clara’s passivity, presenting awakening and action as alternatives to sustaining an unjust system.

Manuel says golf courses, initially established on American military bases and later controlled by local elites, symbolise fertile land worked by many but enjoyed by few. Visual framing places members above servants to reinforce hierarchy, while sound and landscape imagery aim to convey less visible forms of violence and explore how colonial photography shaped perceptions of the Philippines. The film opens in New York on Friday.