Leonor Will Never Die is produced by Arkeofilms and Anima.
This is the first fiction feature of 29-year old Martika Ramirez Escobar.
It won the Sundance Jury Award for Innovative Spirit in 2022 for the World Dramatic
Competition. The opening film of Cinemalaya 2022 and the closing film of the
Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness Section.

Written and Directed by
Martika Ramirez Escobar

Starring
Sheila Francisco
Bong Cabrera
Rocky Salumbides
Anthony Falcon
Producers
Monster Jimenez
Mario Cornejo
Executive Producers
Aurora Oreta
Martika Ramirez Escobar
Quark Henares
Director of Photography
Carlos Mauricio
Production Designer
Eero Yves S. Francisco
Editor
Lawrence S. Ang
Music

Alyana Cabral and Pan De Coco
Sound Designer
Corinne De San Jose

2022
Sundance Film Festival | Jury Award for Spirit of Innovation
Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (BAFICI) | Special Jury Mention
Center for Asian American Media Festival | Centerpiece Narrative Award Winner
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival | Special Jury Mention, Narrative Feature

Closing Film, Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness Program
Finalist for Main Competition, Melbourne International Film Festival
Finalist for Main Competition, Istanbul Film Festival
Nominated for Best Film, Screenplay and New Director
Opening film and Philippine premiere, Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival

ARKEOFILMS
Arkeofilms is an independent film production company based in Manila since 2000. They
support filmmakers with a strong vision and produce strange and curious work that inspire
discourse.

ANIMA
Manila-based independent entertainment studio ANIMA (formerly Globe Studios) is known to
be creator-focused and bold in its content since 2016. ANIMA is strategically affiliated with
the Globe Telecom Group, the Philippines’ leading telecommunications provider. ANIMA is
behind award winning titles ‘LSS Last Song Syndrome’ (Osaka Asian Film Festival), ‘Dead
Kids’ (the first Filipino Netflix Original), ‘Whether the Weather is Fine’ (Jury Prize Winner
2021 Locarno Film Festival, ‘OTJ: The Missing 8’ (Volpi Cup for Best Actor Award 2021
Venice Film Festival) and ‘Leonor Will Never Die’ (Sundance Film Festival 2022 Jury Award
for Spirit of Innovation).

Synopsis

Leonor Reyes was once a major player in the Filipino film industry after creating a string of
successful action films, but now her household struggles to pay the bills. When she reads an
advertisement looking for screenplays, Leonor begins tinkering with an unfinished script
about the quest of young, noble Ronwaldo, forced to avenge his brother’s murder at the
hand of thugs. While her imagination provides some escape from reality, she goes all-in after an accident involving a television knocks her out, sends her into a coma, and transports her inside the incomplete movie. Now Leonor can play out her wildest dreams firsthand and discover the perfect ending to her story.

“With her feature film debut, writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar expresses a joyous
love for cinema through the film’s irreverent form and the wide-eyed, endearing lead
performance from Sheila Francisco. Ramirez Escobar concocts a winning mixture of zany
misadventures, awesome period re-creations, and self-reflective storytelling while grounding
the story in the genuine emotions of a family suddenly torn apart.”

— Sundance Programmers