As soon as Sunshine began, Maris Racal was already teary-eyed. The actress has never seen the final cut of the film directed by Antoinette Jadaone. Racal stars as a troubled Olympic hopeful facing a tough dilemma after she learns she’s pregnant. She finally saw the film in full on April 25, when it premiered at the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy.
And right when the lights turned on after the film finished, she was invited to stand up to face the audience’s thundering applause, and tears streamed down her face.
Racal couldn’t help but cry after the reception of the Italian audience for the film. She also impressed the audience with the short speech she gave during the film’s introduction, where she spoke in Italian, prompting Jadaone to say, “Anong sabi mo?” on stage as well.
speaking like a local this woman 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/2tvQGHv600
— kthreads (@justkhmkay) April 25, 2025
“It’s been two years since we last shot Sunshine,” Racal told Rolling Stone Philippines during the post-screening dinner. “Makakalimutin akong tao and I’ve forgotten some of the details of the film. So when I was watching the film, it was like I was part of the audience, I was there with Sunshine and her journey.”
Racal wasn’t present at the World Premiere of the film at the Toronto Film Festival in 2024 and she was also not present at the Berlin International Film Festival screenings earlier this year, although she attended the festival’s opening ceremony. The film won the Crystal Bear award at the Berlinale.
This wasn’t Racal’s first time at FEFF. She attended the 2023 edition to premiere Quark Henares’s trans catfishing film Where is the Lie?
“I’ll be happy to [go] back five more times,” she said.
Jadaone and Racal told Rolling Stone Philippines they are both excited to premiere the film in the Philippines but there’s no definite playdate yet.
Sunshine is one of the five Filipino films at FEFF this year. Janus Victoria’s Diamonds in the Sands, starring Japanese Actor Lily Franky (Shoplifters), is also premiering. In the retrospective section are Lino Brocka’s Bona, Prime Cruz’s Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B, and the omnibus Shake Rattle and Roll by Emmanuel Borlaza, Ishmael Bernal, and Peque Gallaga.
