Maris Racal’s ‘Sunshine’ among Letterboxd’s highest-rated films of 2025

January 14 ------ The Filipino coming-of-age sports drama “Sunshine,” starring Maris Racal, has earned recognition in Letterboxd’s 2025 Year in Review, ranking across three community-voted categories.

According to the annual wrap-up of ratings released on Tuesday, Jan. 13, “Sunshine” placed as the 5th Highest Rated Film by a Woman Director, the 6th Highest Rated Asian Film, and the 7th Highest Rated Drama of the Year.

The three rankings include highly acclaimed and award-winning films such as Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley’s “Hamnet,” which won two awards at the recent Golden Globes; Stellan Skarsgård’s “Sentimental Value,” and “Train Dreams,” starring Joel Edgerton, among others. Directed and written by Antoinette Jadaone, the film follows Sunshine (Racal), a young rhythmic gymnast who discovers she is pregnant amid national team tryouts and her Olympic dreams.

The film delves into reproductive rights and the stigma surrounding teenage pregnancy in the Philippines. Alongside Racal, the cast includes Elijah Canlas, Xyriel Manabat, Jennica Garcia, Annika Co, and Meryll Soriano. “Sunshine” first premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation 14plus section, a youth jury award.

The film received a theatrical release in the Philippines in July 2025, where it achieved box office success domestically, becoming one of the top-grossing local films in its rating category that year. It later streamed on Netflix last November. Letterboxd is a social platform for film fans and critics to rate, review, and catalog movies. It averages 17 million members. It compiles its Year in Review based on ratings from users worldwide.

Source: inquirer.net