
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Directing
Biography
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan is an award-winning Filipino filmmaker whose works played in film festivals around the world: Umbilical Cord to Heaven (2019) screened in the Museum of Modern Art; Hilum (2021) won the Student Prize at Clermont-Ferrand; The Headhunter’s Daughter (2022) was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance; and Cold Cut (2024) premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Festival de Cannes. His short film Vox Humana (2024) had its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival.
Known For

A drifter’s life takes a dramatic turn when he discovers a runaway member of a survivalist cult in the back of his truck.
Radiant Frost

Leaving her family behind, Lynn traverses the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands to try her luck in the city as a country singer.
The Headhunter's Daughter

One of Filipino cinema's most remarkable new talents, Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan crafts his boldest vision yet: an utterly distinctive blend of science-fiction allegory and existential drama that yields a profound enquiry into human interconnectedness.
Vox Humana

In a rural coastal village in the Philippines, Mona trains under her mother to start working as a professional mourner-for-hire. After a botched performance, Mona retreats from her mother's fury, and seeks out a shaman to cure her inability to cry.
Remedy

Joy, a 19-year-old student, is about to compete at the local talent show. As she's about to enter the audition, a mysterious butcher takes her to unknown horizons...
Cold Cut

During a cold Midwestern winter, Julie, a factory driver with a mysterious illness, attempts to unravel the truth behind the loneliness and the decay that plague her and her industrial town’s waterways.
A Black Hole Near Kent County

Past and present merge through body and land connections to awaken ancient mythologies and spiritualities. Set in the present-day Philippines, the film depicts fairies and gods returning to the land as they are called back and remembered by several individuals, proving the country’s constant connection to its rich, complex history.