Sundance winner, ‘Leonor Will Never Die’ director Martika Escobar opens up on struggles of female filmmakers

With her groundbreaking movie "Leonor Will Never Die," Martika Escobar became the first Filipino feature film director to win at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

As a female director working in a male-dominated industry, the Filipina filmmaker was proud to overcome the many challenges she experienced while making the film.

In the latest episode of the Howie Severino Podcast, Martika recalled how difficult it was to find people who would take a chance on the project.

"[It's a] mix of things that make it difficult for me to make the film itself," the director said.

"Una, babae na gagawa ng action film with stunts, with fist fights. Doon pa lang, medyo 'uh, sure ba siya? Tapos first film pa,'" she said.

"So ang daming dahilan para hindi, alam mo 'yun, pag-invest-an or bigyan ng chance 'yung film na 'to."

Fortunately, Martika found herself surrounded by "allies" who helped turn her vision into a reality.

"Marami man kaming rejections, mga failures, pero marami naman kaming kakampi," she said.

"And I think 'yung malaking factor kaya namin nahanap 'yung mga kakampi namin ay, 'yung mga producers ko, kilala sila for making good, good work and ang ganda ng reputation nila," she added.

"So, 'yun, nakisakay ako sa kanila kaya rin na push through 'yung project."

"Leonor Will Never Die" is an action-packed drama-comedy that follows the life of Leonor Reyes, who is played by Sheila Francisco.

Leonor, a grandmother who is once a major player in the Filipino film industry, has been relegated to the realities of unpaid electricity bills and the struggles of facing violence out in the streets.

The film took eight years to make, but it was all worth it as the Filipina-helmed film won the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the World Cinema Dramatic section of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in January.

After receiving the prestigious award, Martika had some words of encouragement to her fellow independent filmmakers facing drawbacks of their own.

"Siguro ang pinaka advice ko lang talaga … follow your heart lang," she said.

"If you really really want to make a film, mari-realize mo na makakagawa ka ng paraan para mangyari siya. Makakahanap ka ng kakampi mo, makakahanap ka ng way to compromise para paano magawa," she added.

"Follow your heart, kasi lahat naman tayo may gustong gawin, pero 'yung mismong act of working on it is the hard part. So just believe in yourself and find your allies." – Margaret Claire Layug/RC, GMA News