Take a look at some of these movies available on Netflix. The Filipino movies with English subtitles are a great tool for folks wishing to learn the Filipino language. Bare in mind that the movie style is nothing like blockbuster American films so prepare yourself for controversial subject matter that is reflective of life in the Philippines.

I absolutely fell in love with Magnifico because it is the kind of movie that pulls at your heart strings in every way possible.

Imelda is also worth watching but I personally found it so preposterous at times, to think a President's wife spent money so frivolously. Oh the Philippine elite!

Read more about Cinema of the Philippines

Filipino American:

The Debut

Talented high school senior Ben dreams of going to art school, much to the dismay of his strict immigrant father. The struggle between his family’s Filipino traditions and his own American dreams explodes on the night of his sister’s 18th birthday party, when he’s pressured by family to attend the event instead of hanging with his white friends.

Starring: Dante Basco, Eddie Garcia
Director: Gene Cajayon
Genre: Independent
Format: DVD
Language: English
Subtitles: English …

For language

Filipino with English subtitles:

Please note that some of the film titles in Filipino do not offer english subtitles. Many films directed by Fil/Fil-Ams are rather difficult to view in theatres and are difficult to find in video stores on line or elsewhere. CineFilipino has collaborated with leading independent film makers to provide the best collection of films for purchase and provides previews. Some notable titles that you can preview and can be purchased on CineFilipino. The following films are available on Netflix: The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Crying Ladies, Imelda, Magnifico, Manila By Night, Slow Jam King.

Babae Sa Bintana

(1998)

Woman by the Window

Voyeurism leads to a perilous affair in director Chito Roño’s suspenseful tale. Abandoned by his wife, Mitch (Richard Gomez) finds respite from his depression by spying on beautiful new neighbor Jack (Rosanna Roces); next thing you know, the pair becomes intimately acquainted. But trouble lies ahead: It seems that Jack’s lover (John Estrada) has ties to Manila’s underworld, and Mitch soon finds himself in grave danger.

Starring: Rosanna Roces, Richard Gomez
Director: Chito S. Roño
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Babae Sa Breakwater

(2004)

Woman of Breakwater

In this bittersweet survival tale, director Mario O’Hara paints a realistic portrait of the cadgers, prostitutes and scavengers who dwell along Manila Bay’s breakwater scratching out a living. Fleeing from gangsters, brothers Basilio (Kristoffer King) and Buboy (Al Cris Galura) settle along the jetty, but trouble crops up when Basilio gets involved with a diseased hooker (Katherine Luna) whose existence is stoked by liquor and drugs.

Starring: Katherine Luna, Kristoffer King
Director: Mario O’Hara
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros

(2006)

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros

Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a sensitive 12-year-old boy whose life has deteriorated into a surrogate existence of his dead mother. Relegated to housekeeping and caring for his criminal father and brothers, Maxi is befriended by a kind and honorable policeman (J.R. Valentin) eager to show the boy a more respectable way of life. Auraeus Solito’s compassionate drama filmed on the streets of Manila features music from Filipino rock legend Pepe Smith.

Starring: Nathan Lopez, Soliman Cruz
Director: Auraeus Solito
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD and streaming
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English
Awards: Independent Spirit Awards® Nominee …

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Caregiver

(2008)

Leaving her son (John Vladimir Manalo) behind in the Philippines, grade school teacher Sarah (Sharon Cuneta) travels to London, where she reunites with her husband (John Estrada), takes a job as a nursing home caregiver, and struggles with a variety of personal and professional problems. While working with challenging clients and helping a troubled youth, Sarah wonders if the extra income is worth her husband’s crumbling confidence.

Starring: Sharon Cuneta, Jhong Hilario
Director: Chito S. Roño
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Crying Ladies

(2004)

Charged with organizing his father’s funeral, Wilson Chua (Eric Quizon) hires three professional mourners with plenty of problems and enough tears to flood Manila in this heartwarming comedy. Desperate for cash, Stella (Sharon Cuneta) is happy to take the weeklong gig crying at the traditional Chinese funeral, but the stage is set for disaster when she brings B-movie actress Chua (Hilda Koronel) and the adulterous Choleng (Angel Aquino) along.

Starring: Sharon Cuneta, Hilda Koronel
Director: Mark Meily
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog, English …
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Imelda

(2004)

Yes, she loves shoes. But Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines and two-time presidential hopeful, is passionate about more than just her soles. Offering an objective look at Marcos’s often controversial life and political career via interviews with her fans, critics and the woman herself, this thought-provoking documentary examines one of history’s most colorful examples of female leadership.

Starring: Imelda Marcos
Director: Ramona S. Diaz
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Awards: Sundance Film Festival® Nominee …

Magnifico

(2003)

With a daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy and a son who’s lost his much-needed scholarship, an impoverished married couple begins to abandon their faith and courage in the face of such misfortune. But when a gifted young boy called Magnifico uses his goodness to magically transform their lives for the better, the family’s belief in miracles is restored. Suddenly, living with adversity doesn’t seem like such a burden.

Starring: Jiro Manio, Lorna Tolentino
Director: Maryo J. De los Reyes
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Unrated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Bernal

(1980)

Set in Manila’s edgiest hoods, Ishmael Bernal’s ensemble drama explores the Philippine capital’s seedier characters, including pimps, pushers and poverty-stricken prostitutes. A drug-dealing lesbian, a blind bathhouse worker and a gay clothing designer figure prominently into this unflinching trip through Manila’s dark alleys. The talented cast features Cherie Gil, Mitch Valdez, Charito Solis, Orestes Ojeda, Rio Locsin and Bernardo Bernardo.

Starring: Lorna Tolentino, Alma Moreno
Director: Ishmael Bernal
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Spirit Warriors

(2000)

In this eerie thriller from the Philippines, a group of high schoolers finds themselves contending with more than the usual teen angst issues. It seems they’ve run afoul of Ulanaya, a menacing, shape-shifting ghost bent on creating terror and pandemonium throughout the land. Can these adolescent, amateur ghost hunters summon the mettle to square off against — and vanquish — such a formidable otherworldly nemesis?

Starring: Joel Alano, Roy Alvarez
Director: Chito S. Roño
Genre: Foreign
Format:
Language: Tagalog

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Slow Jam King

(2004)

When would-be gangsta JoJo (Ron Domingo) carjacks traveling perfume hawker Vance (Whitney Melton), JoJo’s best friend (D.K. Bowser) tags along to keep things on an even keel in this offbeat indie comedy from the Philippines. The mismatched threesome soon finds themselves on an adventurous road trip to Nashville, Tenn., where they discover the truth about the country music capital’s seamy underside.

Starring: Ron Domingo, Whitney Melton
Director: Steven E. Mallorca
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

Yamashita: The Tiger’s Treasure

(2001)

In Filipino director Chito Roño’s adventure yarn, World War II veteran Lolo Melo (Armando Goyena) enjoys regaling his grandson Jobert (Danilo Barrios) with war stories, one of which includes Lolo’s participation in burying the famed Yamashita treasure. When Jobert heads to Manila to unearth the cache, little does he know that he has competition: A shadowy G-man (Albert Martinez) and a soldier of fortune (Vic Diaz) are also in pursuit of the loot.

Starring: Armando Goyena, Danilo Barrios
Director: Chito S. Roño
Genre: Foreign
Format: DVD
Language: Tagalog
Subtitles: English

Not rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.

It will be my second year as the Co-Director of Filipino Heritage Camp (FHC) and the first year that any of the 10 Colorado Heritage Camps (CHC) has two Directors that are both adult adoptees in its 19 years of existence.

I volunteered as a camp counselor in 2000 when I came across the website after doing a search on line. I still have the printed emails that I sent to the CHC Director who is pictured to the left.


I was not sure what I was getting into - traveling solo to Denver, CO to be a counselor to young kids who were adopted from the Philippines. I comforted by the fact that there was a fellow young adult adoptee that I could relate to and that a couple families happened to be on the same Motherland tour 2 years earlier!

Fast forward a decade later and many hours on the phone with my fellow co-counselor and now Co-Director. I would like to think I am ten years wiser and more experienced to take a leadership role in a camp that has become a second home and family to me.

It will be our 4th consecutive year traveling to the Rockies with my son who has been attending and recently participating as a camper, which will undeniably help play a role in his own identity development.

A gal cc'd me in an email to a fellow adopted person from the Philippines. She revealed that she came across a picture on our orphanage page on Facebook and identified herself; an image she had never seen before, a photo of herself before the age of 4 years.

The photo was taken a couple years before I was born but somehow I felt an instant connection with her as we spoke that same night. Her excited voice was rambling and asking questions that I could not necessarily answer. It was one of those conversations that could have gone on for hours as we compared notes about what our Pilipinas passport looked like and if I knew any of the names she blurted out.

This recent reunion of sorts has me thinking whether I want to find more information about my life in the orphanage. This gal has a sister who is my age and is very likely that we were at the orphanage at the same time.

I always feel like I am having an out of body experience when I have these encounters. As though they are unreal and I am an observer. I guess this is part of my adoption that I am still working out and attempting not to alienate myself from the fact that I lived in the orphanage for the first five years of my life.

Webinars are Genius!

I registered for a webinar (a seminar on the web) on The Role of the U.S. Government in Intercountry Adoptions through the Joint Council on International Children's Services. Their mission is to, "promote ethical child welfare practices, strengthens professional standards and educates adoptive families, social service professionals and government representatives throughout the world."

JCICS provided a panel, which included Government representatives and adoption professionals that spent the two hours explaining the often confusing process of adopting, terminology, the role of the Hague Convention and other facets. Additionally, the power point presentation was sent to all participants and with the webinar feature was viewable in real time during the lecture.