Award-winning Filipino film ‘Sunshine’ by director Antoinette Jadaone will soon come to the stage following its success on the big screen.
Starring Maris Racal, ‘Sunshine’ follows a teenage gymnast who dreams of joining the Olympics. Her life changes when she discovers that she is pregnant.
She then begins a difficult journey. Along the way, she faces her fears, dreams, and the possible consequences of her choices.
The stage play forms part of the upcoming projects from Ilaya Ilaya. Jadaone and her long-time collaborator Reign Anne De Guzman lead the new production house.
Choose-your-own-adventure experience
Deadline described the project as a “choose-your-own-adventure experience.” The production will place audiences inside Sunshine’s world.
The format will also expand the film’s themes of agency, complicity, and choice beyond the screen.
“When you’re watching a film, you’re there to just watch Sunshine make decisions,” Jadaone told Deadline.
“But what if Sunshine’s story was something you could hold and influence as an audience member?”
The interactive format will give audiences a more direct connection with Sunshine’s story. It will also allow them to engage with the choices at the heart of the film.
Racal’s theater debut
Racal will reprise her role as Sunshine in the stage production. The project will mark her theater debut.
Jadaone will hand the director’s chair to Mikko Angeles. He recently directed Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s ‘Bar Boys: The Musical’.
Mika Regis will write the stage play.
The production team has not announced an opening date yet. Additional cast members also remain unconfirmed.
Award-winning
‘Sunshine’ premiered in 2014 at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival. It competed at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation 14plus section.
Alongside Racal, the film also stars Jennica Garcia, Elijah Canlas, Xyriel Manabat, and Annika Co.
The film received critical acclaim in the Philippines following its local release in 2025.
It was shortlisted by the Film Academy of the Philippines for the country’s submission to the Best International Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards, although the committee chose to submit Lav Diaz’s ‘Magellan’.
READ NEXT: Taylor Swift breaks MTV VMAs record and pays tribute to Dolly Parton
