LOOK: Movie icon Hilda Koronel makes a bold comeback with SISA at 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
The character of Sisa is one of the most iconic and emotionally charged figures in Philippine literature and cinema, symbolizing both suffering and resilience. Her cry of “Crispiiin! Basiliooo!” as she frantically searches for her sons has become legendary, immortalized in José Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere. This moment captures the depth of her anguish and has resonated with generations of Filipinos.
In a recent development, Philippine screen legend Hilda Koronel makes her return to the big screen with the world premiere of Jun Robles Lana’s SISA. This powerful new work has been selected for the Official Competition at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival) this November, signaling its international recognition and showcasing Koronel’s talent.
Renowned for her roles in Lino Brocka’s masterpieces Insiang and Maynila sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag, Koronel has become one of the Philippines’ most celebrated actresses for over 4 decades, then she went on hiatus and moved to Los Angeles in 2012. After over a decade, she returns with acclaimed director Jun Robles Lana, a recognized name in the international festival circuit with award-winning films like Bwakaw, Barber’s Tales, and Die Beautiful.
Tallinn Black Nights is Northern Europe’s largest film event and recognized as one of the FIAPF-accredited “A-list” festivals alongside the Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. SISA’s selection in its Official Competition affirms both the film’s artistic strength and the continuing global resonance of Filipino storytelling.
“Returning to Tallinn after his acclaimed About Us But Not About Us, Jun Robles Lana shifts from the intimate to the epic. With his signature emotional precision and a searing performance by Hilda Koronel, SISA is both a historical thriller and an urgent elegy,” wrote Film Programmer Milani Perera.
For international audiences familiar with Philippine cinema, Koronel represents a living connection to the golden age of Filipino social realism, an actress whose performances have become essential to world cinema history. SISA promises to introduce her timeless artistry to new generations, in a story that bridges the local and the universal.
SISA’s world premiere will be on November 20 in the Official Competition of the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Both Jun Robles Lana and Hilda Koronel are scheduled to attend both the premiere and the awards ceremony of the festival.
Here’s the full quote from Milani Perera, film programmer:
Her silence was survival. Her madness, a weapon. Her mission: revenge.
The Philippines, 1902. The land is raw, wounded, occupied. Smoke clings to the trees. Blood soaks the soil. The war is over – but the violence lingers. Widows fill the villages. Mothers vanish into silence. Among them walks Sisa (Hilda Koronel), barefoot and broken, dismissed as mad by those who fear what they don’t understand. But madness is only the surface.
Beneath the rags and ramblings, Sisa hides a secret: she is a spy. A survivor. A mother robbed of everything but rage. Haunted by visions she cannot silence, she begins to lead a quiet revolt – gathering women who, like her, have been pushed to the margins. As betrayal coils around her, Sisa walks the line between memory and madness, asking what it takes to rise when the world has already buried you.
Returning to Tallinn after his acclaimed “About Us But Not About Us”, Jun Robles Lana shifts from the intimate to the epic. With his signature emotional precision and a searing performance by Hilda Koronel, “Sisa” is both a historical thriller and an urgent elegy.
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SISA was supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Film Philippines Office, produced by The IdeaFirst Company, Octobertrain Films, Quantum Films, Cineko Productions, CMB Films, YayWati International, in association with Kidlat Entertainment.
