Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Director Jun Robles Lana

Jude Cartalaba

<p>In &quot;Sisa,&quot; the upcoming film by director Jun Robles Lana, history is told from a different vantage point where women resisted in quieter, more intimate ways. Led by multi-awarded actress Hilda Koronel, the film serves as a tribute to women who defied traditional gender roles during the Filipino-American War (1899–1902).</p><p>There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise — a sentiment that defines the women Lana brings to life in &quot;Sisa,&quot; which opens on Wednesday, March 4, in cinemas nationwide.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px;display:block" width="950"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772495066611IMG_1740.JPG" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="950"/><span class="fr-inner">Director Jun Robles Lana</span></span></span></div><div><strong>Telling history through film</strong></div><p>According to Lana, the idea for the story has been with him for a long time -- even when he was making &quot;Barber’s Tales.&quot;</p><p>“I’ve always been fascinated by the American occupation of the Philippines, and over the years, I collected books, research materials, and accounts. &#x27;Sisa&#x27; was one of several stories I was quietly developing,&quot; he said.</p><p>“But I also knew it would be expensive to mount, so it stayed on the shelf for years.”</p><p>In many ways, he thought it was waiting for the right moment and the right actor. </p><p>“When Hilda got on board, everything accelerated. The script itself came together quickly because the groundwork had already been laid,” Lana said.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772495427773IMG_1780.JPG" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">&#x27;Sisa&#x27; actress Hilda Koronel</span></span></span></div><p>As a filmmaker and a storyteller, he doesn’t believe in formulas when it comes to historical films -- or storytelling in general. If something feels engineered as a formula, audiences can sense it.</p><p>“For me, the impulse was very simple: I wanted to shift the lens,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Sisa&quot; features three female leads -- Koronel in the title role, Eugene Domingo as Delia, and Jennica Garcia as Leonor.</p><p>“Putting women at the center wasn’t a strategy. It was a correction. It was a way of saying: history didn’t only happen in public. It also happened in kitchens and in private acts of defiance,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Historical films are inherently political</strong></div><p>Lana stressed that in such pieces, history can’t be separated from power.</p><p>“&#x27;Sisa&#x27; draws inspiration from the Balangiga uprising during the Philippine-American War, a moment when Filipinos rose even as American control was consolidating across the country. What moved me wasn’t just the act of rebellion, but the cost of it,” he said.</p><p>During the Philippine-American War, Filipino women broke gender conventions as they played crucial and diverse roles. They served as active combatants, spies, and dedicated support for revolutionaries. In short, they fought alongside men or commanded troops, as seen with figures like Agueda Kahabagan, also known as the Tagalog Joan of Arc. She’s also revered for her bravery on the battlefield. She was the first and the only female general in the armed forces division of Katipunan. She’s depicted as a woman riding a horse, with her bolo and rifle.</p><p>“This time, I chose to focus on women, on what resistance looks like when the battlefield is personal, intimate, and just as costly. These women say no even when they know the odds are against them,&quot; Lana said,</p><p>“Too much of our history centers on men in uniform, but women were negotiating, resisting, surviving long before feminism became a word.</p><p>“They were making moral decisions inside domestic spaces that were just as political as anything happening on a battlefield.”</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px;display:block" width="950"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772495468956IMG_1781.JPG" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="950"/><span class="fr-inner">Eugene Domingo</span></span></span></div><div><strong>Challenges in writing the story</strong></div><p>“Structurally, the story was clear to me early on,&quot; Lana told ABS-CBN News. “The bigger challenge was how to tell it.</p><p>&quot;Historical films often equate realism with truth, as if recreating every detail perfectly makes the story more honest. I’m not convinced that realism automatically equals truth. Sometimes realism becomes decorative,&quot; he continued.</p><p>“I wanted the artifice to be visible. The sky replacements are heightened, almost painterly. The soundscape is intentionally distorted. All night scenes were shot in daylight to create ‘unease.’</p><p>“There are sequences staged on literal theatrical sets. The aspect ratio shifts. Even the costumes, while period-accurate, don’t hide their construction. Sisa’s wig, for instance, sits somewhere between performance and concealment; it’s almost symbolic.</p><p>“I understand that this might take some viewers out of the story. That was a risk I accepted. I didn’t want the audience to sink into comfort. For a country that forgets easily, I wanted the viewing experience to feel conscious, almost hyper-aware. Not just to watch history, but to confront it.”</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px;display:block" width="950"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772495506174DSC00161-2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="950"/><span class="fr-inner">Jennica Garcia</span></span></span></div><p>In filming &quot;Sisa,&quot; they had to build the concentration camp in Tarlac. The intention wasn’t to hide the construction completely.</p><p>“I wanted it to feel suspended between realism and stagecraft. The sets took about a month and a half to complete. We shot the film in 28 days,” Lana said.</p><p>As a writer and as a director, Lana has always been drawn to writers and filmmakers who interrogate power quietly but firmly, people who trust the audience to think.</p><div><em>&quot;Sisa&quot; opens in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, March 9.</em></div>

<p>In 'Sisa,' director Jun Robles Lana turns the lens toward those untold acts of resistance, with Hilda Koronel in the title role anchoring a story set during the Filipino-American War.</p>

In 'Sisa,' director Jun Robles Lana turns the lens toward those untold acts of resistance, with Hilda Koronel in the title role anchoring a story set during the Filipino-American War.

Jun Robles Lana’s ‘Sisa’ spotlights women as agents of change

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Movies & Series

Jun Robles Lana’s ‘Sisa’ spotlights women as agents of change

Jude Cartalaba

Published Mar 03, 2026 12:08 PM PHT

Read More:

Sisa

movie

Jun Robles Lana

Hilda Koronel

Eugene Domingo

Jennica Garcia

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.