‘Sunshine,’ starring Maris Racal, to premiere at Toronto Int’l Film Festival
MANILA, Philippines – Sunshine, the film starring Maris Racal and directed by Antoinette Jadaone, will make its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
In a press release by the film festival, Sunshine will be part of their Centrepiece program, which will feature 43 titles from filmmakers representing 41 countries including Australia, Belgium, Colombia, France, Poland, Sweden, and USA, among others.
Jadaonne’s Sunshine is the lone Filipino film included in the program.
“The program is a reflection of TIFF’s commitment to providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly-anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries,” organizers said.
The festival will run from September 5 to 15. As of writing, details about Sunshine’s screening schedules have yet to be announced.
Following the announcement, Jadaone took to her Facebook to express her excitement about having a film of her make its premiere on TIFF. “Thank you everybody who helped me develop and make this,” she said.
Starring Racal, Annika Co, Jennica Garcia, Elijah Canlas, Meryll Soriano, and Xyriel Manabat, Sunshine follows the story of a young gymnast who – in the middle of national team tryouts – finds out she is pregnant. While in the process of acquiring illegal abortion drugs, the gymnast comes across a girl who talks and thinks like her.
“Sunshine represents the hundreds and thousands of girls who became pregnant in their teens,” Jadaone said during a previous interview with American outlet Deadline.
“These topics have always been taboo in the Philippines because of our deeply conservative roots, but when cases of teenage pregnancy and self-induced abortions rise every year, it is imperative that these stories be told.”
Jadaone added that through Sunshine, she hopes that awareness of women’s reproductive rights in the Philippines will be raised, despite the topic being taboo.
Sunshine is produced by the Filipino studio ANIMA and Manila-based film production outfit founded by Jadaone and husband Dan Villegas, Project 8 Projects. Jadaone’s previous works include That Thing Called Tadhana, Fangirl, and the series, Simula sa Gitna.
Ticket-selling for TIFF will go live for the general public on August 26 while members can purchase tickets at least four days in advance. – with additional reports from Fore Esperanza/Rappler.com
Fore Esperanza is a Rappler intern. She’s taking up English language studies at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.