Family-owned Nathan Studios brings 2 films to 2026 Sundance filmfest

January 29 ------ Coming in high from “I’m Perfect’s” Best Picture win at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the family-owned Nathan Studios announced that its co-produced films “Filipiniana” and “Levitating (Para Perasuk)” are heading to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. “Filipiniana” and “Levitating (Para Perasuk),” directed by Rafael Manuel and Wregas Bhanuteja, respectively, are featured in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

According to a logline on Sundance’s website, the film tells the story of Isabel’s attraction toward a certain Dr. Palanca, the president of a country club. She soon discovers that her infatuation with him comes from a “sinister shared history.” “Rafael Manuel plumbs the depths of Filipino identity and national consciousness to uncover ominous fragments and cracks that defy picture-perfect unity,” it said. “Painting a scathing portrait of class disparities and post-colonial power structures in ways that are both quiet and unsettling, Filipiñana announces the arrival of an accomplished writer-director who unflinchingly confronts his country’s past, present, and future.” The Manuel-helmed film is co-produced by Nathan Studios, Film4, Pōtocol, and Epicmedia.

Meanwhile, “Levitating (Para Perasuk)” is an Indonesian film showing the world caught in a “trance dance hypnosis” controlled by a spirit channeler named Bayu. It is co-produced by production companies from Indonesia, Singapore, France, Taiwan, and the Philippines’ Nathan Studios. “Modernizing forces surrounding Bayu and his instrument threaten with increasingly distracting elements, which he must learn how to balance and integrate into his focus so that his flute maintains the ability to care for those it possesses,” a logline on Sundance’s website read.

According to the production house’s co-owner, Sylvia Sanchez, the selection of the films at Sundance is part of its dream to showcase bodies of work to accommodate different audiences. “Talagang ang isa sa mga objectives namin ay maging part ng mga pelikulang kakaiba ang tema at atake,” she said. “Drawn kami sa mga materyal na may sinasabi — kahit masakit, kahit uncomfortable. Kasi doon nagiging totoo ang pelikula. At kapag totoo, kahit saan mo dalhin, may makaka-relate.”

Source: inquirer.net