Sam Manacsa
Directing
Biography
Sam Manacsa is a Filipino filmmaker and production designer born in Manila in 1994. After graduating with a degree in Film from the University of the Philippines, she has worked as an art director on award-winning films such as Carlo Francisco Manatad's Whether the Weather Is Fine (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon), among others.
Known For

In a repressive city-state, a tomboy schoolgirl persuades three classmates at an all-girls school to rebel by forming a triad gang.
Amoeba

Four queer women in their 30s who are exes-turned-best-friends navigate adulthood, love, friendship, chosen families, and everything in between.
Open Endings

The audition process for an exploitative game show becomes the latest test of a long-suffering mother’s fortitude and tenacity.
Primetime Mother

Against the backdrop of the Typhoon Yolanda, a mother and her son struggle for survival and deal with absurdity of fate, sustained by the hope that they carry, and what is lost and gained.
Whether the Weather Is Fine

An aging spy, his delusional wife, and promiscuous son are driven into madness as they confront the terrors caused by the monster known as The Shadow.
Never Tear Us Apart

Even if two people are on the opposite sides of the universe, once the connection is made, they're basically one.
Five Breakups and a Romance

Alex is a 23 year old gay girl based in Manila. She is out to most people except her best friend Jess who she has been secretly in love with since they were kids. When Jess discovers the truth about Alex, they are forced to confront the feelings they have for each other.
Baka Bukas

A 30-year old man who returns home to Manila is forced to confront his old life, his old friends, and his ex-boyfriend at their high school reunion where the drama of the past and the present collide.
Sila-Sila

Sad boys Jelson and Ipe harness the power of their love in an attempt to survive a world devastated by climate change.
Water Sports

A 15-year-old A-student defies the views of her all-girls Catholic school as she confronts her feelings for a school nun.
A Catholic Schoolgirl

In the midst of a global epidemic that causes a delay of sight from sound, a retiring hitman must honor one last mission: eliminate the city's biggest supplier of spid, a potent drug that syncs one's senses.
Spid

Jodilerks, a gas station attendant is on her last day of duty. The night is young…
Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month

A grieving widow attempts to find the missing piece of her husband's remains.
If People Such as We Cease to Exist

Mythology crosses Ivy's path when mystical Tigmamanukan bird helps her break free from her husband who gambles the couple's money in cockfighting.
Nightbirds

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

Mila struggles as she remains unpaid at work and finds comfort in a love interest through his constant phone calls.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
In a crowded housing complex, Anissa, a blind teenage girl navigates a world mainly shaped by sound. As a neighborhood national day celebration unfolds around her, she finds an unexpected way to be heard, reclaiming her place within the noise that surrounds her.
Annisa
When 19-year-old Rosemary is the last to see a young boy before he disappears, she finds herself alongside his grieving mother, Agnes, in search of him. In the stillness of their shared days, they are drawn to confront their unspoken grief and forgotten dreams.