After more than a century of being overshadowed by the towering names of our national heroes, Gregoria de Jesús — the Lakambining Katipunan — finally takes her rightful place at the center of history through the film Lakambini, Gregoria de Jesús.
Unlike the usual linear biopic, Lakambini isn’t your typical historical film. It’s not a straightforward drama; it’s what the filmmakers call a “meta docufiction.” The film intertwines dramatized sequences from the unfinished 2015 feature with documentary interviews featuring historians, descendants, and the creative team who fought to bring this story back to life. This dual structure turns Lakambini into both a cinematic experience and a film about filmmaking — an introspective look at how stories, especially those of women, are remembered or forgotten.
Originally conceived as a full-length period drama directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and written by Palanca Award-winning playwright Rody Vera, Lakambini faced production hurdles when funding was cut. A decade later, producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil and filmmaker Arjanmar Rebeta ingeniously transformed its fragments into a hybrid film — part memory, part resurrection. The finished film feels like a quiet revolution in itself, turning what could’ve been a lost story into something alive and unforgettable.
Unlike the usual linear biopic, Lakambini isn’t your typical historical film. It’s not a straightforward drama; it’s what the filmmakers call a “meta docufiction.” The film intertwines dramatized sequences from the unfinished 2015 feature with documentary interviews featuring historians, descendants, and the creative team who fought to bring this story back to life. This dual structure turns Lakambini into both a cinematic experience and a film about filmmaking — an introspective look at how stories, especially those of women, are remembered or forgotten.
Originally conceived as a full-length period drama directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and written by Palanca Award-winning playwright Rody Vera, Lakambini faced production hurdles when funding was cut. A decade later, producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil and filmmaker Arjanmar Rebeta ingeniously transformed its fragments into a hybrid film — part memory, part resurrection. The finished film feels like a quiet revolution in itself, turning what could’ve been a lost story into something alive and unforgettable.
