Joel Lamangan

Directing

Joel Lamangan

Born

1952-09-21 (74)

Place of birth

Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

Known for

Directing

Credits

78 titles

Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes The Flor Contemplacion Story, Sidhi, Deathrow, Hubog, Aishte Imasu 1941, Blue Moon and Mano Po.

Known for

The Year of Living Dangerously poster
6.7

A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.

The Year of Living Dangerously

1982

Island of Desire poster
4.5

A nurse is assigned to work at an island called Isla Bato, where men treat women with lust. As she experiences the people's madness, she plans a way to get out of the island.

Island of Desire

2022

Manila in the Claws of Light poster
7.4

Julio, a young fisherman from a provincial village, descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one.

Manila in the Claws of Light

1975

Son of Macho Dancer poster
4.3

This is the story of Inno, the son of Pol, the original Macho Dancer.

Son of Macho Dancer

2021

José Rizal poster
8.8

Accused of treason, Dr. Jose P. Rizal awaits trial and meets with his colonial government-appointed counsel, Luis Taviel de Andrade. The two build the case and arguments for the defense as significant events in the central figure's life prior to his incarceration unfold. Upon hearing Rizal's life story, Taviel begins to realize that the accused not just is innocent but exhibits in fact all the qualities of an extraordinary man. When the mock trial unreels, Taviel is all set to act as the prime advocate for his client as Rizal himself is about to give an earth-moving speech to defend his honor and address his countrymen. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities have worked out the vast political machinery to ensure a guilty verdict. A revolution waits in the wings.

José Rizal

1998

Macho Dancer poster
6.8

Pol moves to Manila for better opportunities after his American lover leaves. However, he gets drawn into the gritty world of gay prostitution and sexual slavery.

Macho Dancer

1989

Film credits

2020s · 5 titles

AbeNida poster
NR

Abe, a woodcarver and artist, loses everything when his wife leaves him for another man. He falls in love with a woman who looks like his wife and calls her by his wife's name Nida, when in reality she is a prostitute named Cecile.

AbeNida

2023

Manoy: Isang Pagsaludo kay Eddie Garcia poster
NR

Icons of Philippine entertainment industry pay tribute to the “Manoy” of Philippine Cinema Eddie Garcia in this documentary helmed by internationally-acclaimed director, Jon Red.

Manoy: Isang Pagsaludo kay Eddie Garcia

2021

Unconditional poster
NR

Anna, a progressive social media manager, retreats to Siargao to escape the moral conflict of helping her ex’s corrupt father win a Senate seat. There, she meets Greg, a kindhearted local caring for his ailing mother. As a new romance blossoms, Anna must confront her deepest beliefs when she discovers Greg is a trans man—challenging her notions of love, identity, and what it truly means to love without conditions.

Unconditional

2025

Jackstone 5 poster
NR

Five gay men who were inseparable in their youth—calling themselves the “Jackstone 5”—reunite decades later after living very different lives. What begins as a lighthearted catch-up filled with nostalgia gradually exposes the wounds, secrets and compromises each carried in order to survive in a conservative society. Some lived abroad, some married, some hid their true selves, and others chased love and failed. As old tensions resurface and buried emotions return, the friends are forced to confront who they were and who they’ve become. Through laughter, conflict and confession, they rediscover the comfort of chosen family and learn that it may never be too late for forgiveness, self-acceptance and second chances—in friendship and in love.

Jackstone 5

2025

Patayan Files: Ang Pinakamalalaking Murder Cases Ng Dekada '90 poster
NR

Vizconde Massacre -the trial of the century, Flor Contemplacion's story, the case that outraged Filipinos, and more horrifying deaths. Cheche Lazaro's Probe Archives goes in-depth on the controversy behind the gruesome crimes that shocked the entire country during the 90s.

Patayan Files: Ang Pinakamalalaking Murder Cases Ng Dekada '90

2022

2010s · 7 titles

Working Girls poster
5.0

Continuing the tradition of national artist Ishmael Bernal's benchmark film Working Girls after 25 years, Working Girls of 2010 depicts the role of women in the new millennium. Seven women of different backgrounds, stories and personalities entwined in a colorful story of family, love and life.

Working Girls

2010

The Halt poster
6.4

Madmen control Manila in 2034 after massive volcanic eruptions have plunged Southeast Asia into darkness.

The Halt

2019

Deadma Walking poster
8.2

A Palanca-winning comedy about gay best friends for life John and Mark whose friendship is put to the test when one of them has a terminal illness and asks the other to help him stage his fake death, wake, and funeral as his dying wish. The result is a laughfest of "deadly" proportions.

Deadma Walking

2017

Himala Ngayon poster
9.0

A 2012 documentary about the making and the legacy of the 1982 drama masterpiece directed by Ishmael Bernal that ended up being one of the greatest Asian films of all time. The revelations about the theory of "Who killed Elsa?" will be answered and also, the impact of the film to the Filipino culture and society.

Himala Ngayon

2012

Violator poster
4.0

Manila is besieged by the worst typhoon to hit the country. Talk of the world coming to an end hangs in the air. And five men find themselves stranded inside a police station with a prisoner who may o may not be the devil. It's going to be a long night.

Violator

2014

Separados poster
NR

Six men. Six failed marriage. One wedding to restore their faith in second chances. This is the bittersweet saga of six men who have separated from their wives. Inspired by true stories, their parallel and overlapping tales offer six different portraits of the failure of monogamy in a society where divorce is supposedly not an option. Ironically, fate and circumstance bring them together at a church wedding, where one of them takes a second chance at marital bliss.

Separados

2014

School Service poster
NR

Maya was walking home in her province when the service stops beside her and offers her to hitch. She innocently takes the ride to reach home faster. To Maya’s horror, the service did not stop at her place. She soon realizes she has been taken, along with the other kids who are inside the crammed school service. Soon, Maya finds herself hours and hours away from home, in an unfamiliar land -Manila. By dusk, the children are dropped off along the national highway to work by begging for alms. Forced to struggle with the harsh conditions of street life, Maya continues to hope for her dreams and chase for her freedom that may never happen.

School Service

2018

2000s · 3 titles

1990s · 4 titles

José Rizal poster
8.8

Accused of treason, Dr. Jose P. Rizal awaits trial and meets with his colonial government-appointed counsel, Luis Taviel de Andrade. The two build the case and arguments for the defense as significant events in the central figure's life prior to his incarceration unfold. Upon hearing Rizal's life story, Taviel begins to realize that the accused not just is innocent but exhibits in fact all the qualities of an extraordinary man. When the mock trial unreels, Taviel is all set to act as the prime advocate for his client as Rizal himself is about to give an earth-moving speech to defend his honor and address his countrymen. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities have worked out the vast political machinery to ensure a guilty verdict. A revolution waits in the wings.

José Rizal

1998

Burlesk King poster
5.1

Harry leaves Olongapo, the former site of American bases, with his best friend James. They end up in Manila where they soon find work as macho dancers in a gay bar run by Mama Odette. Harry has a troubled past -- his American father used to pimp him and his mother, Betty. When his father accidentally killed his mother, Harry struck out on his own. He made a vow to kill his father.

Burlesk King

1999

Kasalanan Bang Sambahin Ka? poster
6.8

A woman had a one-night stand with soon-to-be-married man and becomes obsessed with him, stalking him to the point of threatening suicide to get his attention.

Kasalanan Bang Sambahin Ka?

1990

No artwork available
9.5

A strong-willed matriarch and her family leave their fishing village for Manila after an oil spill.

Lucia

1992

1980s · 14 titles

The Year of Living Dangerously poster
6.7

A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.

The Year of Living Dangerously

1982

Macho Dancer poster
6.8

Pol moves to Manila for better opportunities after his American lover leaves. However, he gets drawn into the gritty world of gay prostitution and sexual slavery.

Macho Dancer

1989

Bona poster
6.6

Bona, a middle-class student, becomes infatuated with a struggling actor, Gardo, and drops out of school to live with him. She becomes his unpaid maid, performing chores and enduring his relationships with other women, in the hopes of reciprocation.

Bona

1984

Working Girls poster
6.5

Women cope with various problems while earning a living in the city.

Working Girls

1984

Himala poster
8.0

When plain orphan Elsa begins having visions of the Virgin Mary, the rest of the residents of her isolated village find themselves questioning their own beliefs and values. Soon, Elsa is healing people with a variety of ailments. As word of this phenomenon spreads, tourists, pilgrims, patients and a documentary filmmaker all arrive on a quest to partake in the miracle.

Himala

1982

Fight for Us poster
6.9

In 1985, in the obscure town of Dolores, the Orapronobis, a cult under the leadership of Kumander Kontra, murders a foreign priest who gave the last rites to an alleged rebel, who was also executed by the same group.

Fight for Us

1989

Five and the Skin poster
6.4

Ivan, a writer living in Manila, walks through the city in search of his past.

Five and the Skin

1982

The New King poster
8.2

Dan Alvaro plays Addon, the quintessential Filipino anti-hero, the bastard son of a corrupt police officer who purposely meddles in the very dirty political war between the governor and a town mayor in an unnamed province.

The New King

1986

PX poster
3.7

Lydia, a prostitute, is caught between the love of her long-time partner, Sidro, who is a hired gun, and George Grace, an American soldier stationed at a U.S. military base in Pampanga.

PX

1982

Dalaga si Misis, Binata si Mister poster
7.0

A successful couple decide to separate and see other people.

Dalaga si Misis, Binata si Mister

1981

Mother Dear poster
7.0

This film probes into the minds and hearts of illegitimate children and their mothers.

Mother Dear

1982

Sand Castle poster
5.3

Mario O'Hara's melodrama about an aspiring singer and her ex-convict sweetheart.

Sand Castle

1980

No artwork available
9.0

A street hustler falls in love with a bar girl. They get married, but separate when the guy gets meted a death sentence after gunning down a rich customer of the bar in a fit of jealousy. The bar girl bears the hustler's child who becomes eventually blind.

What Is the Color of God's Face?

1985

Kumander Dante poster
9.0

This action drama depicts the political development of one of the most celebrated leaders of the New People's Army "Ka Dante" or Bernabe Buscayno, who availed of the Aquino goverment's political amnesty program.

Kumander Dante

1988

1970s · 5 titles

Behind the camera

Island of Desire poster
4.5

A nurse is assigned to work at an island called Isla Bato, where men treat women with lust. As she experiences the people's madness, she plans a way to get out of the island.

Island of Desire

2022

Island of Desire poster
4.5

A nurse is assigned to work at an island called Isla Bato, where men treat women with lust. As she experiences the people's madness, she plans a way to get out of the island.

Island of Desire

2022

Son of Macho Dancer poster
4.3

This is the story of Inno, the son of Pol, the original Macho Dancer.

Son of Macho Dancer

2021

Siphayo poster
4.5

A self-made farmer and rice mill owner who faces a rebellion by his two sons when he installs his young mistress as the new woman of the house immediately after the death of his wife. Complicating matters further is the fact that the older son is already living with his common-law wife in the same house.

Siphayo

2016

Sisid Marino poster
6.4

A married couple falls into depression after the death of their child. They turn to sex as a coping mechanism, but poverty takes its toll on them.

Sisid Marino

2024

Moonlight Butterfly poster
4.0

Story of Eunice aka Moonlight Butterfly, the hottest GRO in Angeles, Pampanga and the three men in her life. She soon learns to play the game of lust and love in order to survive and provide for her family.

Moonlight Butterfly

2022

Fall Guy poster
3.6

A sexy political drama about a man who's blamed for a crime he didn't do. Will justice be ever served to small people like him?

Fall Guy

2023

Fall Guy poster
3.6

A sexy political drama about a man who's blamed for a crime he didn't do. Will justice be ever served to small people like him?

Fall Guy

2023

Heavenly Touch poster
5.8

Jonard is having trouble making ends meet. His mother is suffering from depression, and he and his sister are forced to quit school in order to take care of her. One day, Jonard meets up his friend Rodel, and Rodel introduces him to the world of massage parlors. Rodel teaches him massage, and brings him to Heavenly Touch, a syndicate-run massage parlor that mostly caters to homosexuals.

Heavenly Touch

2009

Heavenly Touch poster
5.8

Jonard is having trouble making ends meet. His mother is suffering from depression, and he and his sister are forced to quit school in order to take care of her. One day, Jonard meets up his friend Rodel, and Rodel introduces him to the world of massage parlors. Rodel teaches him massage, and brings him to Heavenly Touch, a syndicate-run massage parlor that mostly caters to homosexuals.

Heavenly Touch

2009

Bugbog Sarado poster
4.7

The story opens with Brandon and Shy, negotiating for a lease of an old room owned by Stella. Brix, a travelling salesman and Stella's live-in partner deals with the couple in behalf of the landlady. Little do they know that inside the mysterious house lies a perplexed truth. Bugbog Sarado" shapes up the frames of sadism and masochism. It intensified the sounds of pain and protest in discovering the real encounters inside the bedroom of abused women.

Bugbog Sarado

2003

Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita poster
6.4

Inya, a heroine of the Philippine resistance against the Japanese during World War II, recalls events involving her husband Edilberto and their childhood friend Ignacio, a transvestite who, masquerading as a woman also named Inya, becomes the lover of the local Japanese commander, Ichiru, and is caught between a duty to be a spy for his country and friends and his reluctant but growing love for Ichiru.

Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita

2004

Silab poster
3.4

The friendship of two men is set on fire as one finds out that his wife is having a steamy affair with the other.

Silab

2021

Bes and the Beshies poster
NR

It tells the story of four friends: a single mom hoping to complete her family, a martyr wife who will do anything to keep her family from falling apart, a mistress who is desperate to have her own family, and a young woman who fully supports them.

Bes and the Beshies

2017

Girl Friday poster
4.8

A wife resorts to sexual explorations in order to save their marriage but when her plan backfires she devises an evil scheme.

Girl Friday

2022

The Flor Contemplacion Story poster
8.7

The story of the Filipina domestic helper who was hanged in Singapore for allegedly killing her fellow maid is chronicled in a film that operates on various personal, social, and political levels. Both controversial and critically acclaimed, it has brought Nora Aunor numerous citations for her intense portrayal as the fallen heroine of the story.

The Flor Contemplacion Story

1995

Sidhi poster
7.0

Ana is a mute woman living in a remote mountain area with her sick father, who is searching for a man who will marry his daughter. He finds Miguel, a man who expresses interest in marrying Ana, because of the land he could inherit from her father. In the absence of her traveling husband, Ana meets Mayang, with whom she forms a great friendship. Soon, Ana discovers that Mayang is also married to Miguel.

Sidhi

1999

Yesterday's Promise poster
6.0

Three strong-willed sisters face tough choices.

Yesterday's Promise

1994

Manay Po! 2: Overload poster
4.7

Luzviminda Dimagiba (Cherry Pie Picache) and her three gay sons: Oscar (Polo Ravales), Orson (John Prats) and Orwell (Jiro Manio) are back! And now they want to add a new member to their outrageous family – a cute little baby to make their new home happy and complete! But babies don’t just really just fall from heaven or can be fetched from a river, so when the Dimagibas are figuring out this dilemma, Bette (Rufa Mae Quinto) – the ditzy baby maker just came right on time to provide the answer.

Manay Po! 2: Overload

2008

Pacquiao: The Movie poster
4.8

Jericho Rosales portrays Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao as he struggles out of poverty to become a champion and national hero. Yet when the pressures of his sport, his personal life and the high expectations of his countrymen take their toll, he falls from grace. With the help of his wife (Bea Alonzo), will he be able to rise once more to be worthy of being called "the People's Champion"?

Pacquiao: The Movie

2006

The Last Virgin on Earth poster
5.8

A priest visits a small seaside town. Miling a former nun who now teaches catechism on the island thinks that father Emman is the priest she sent for. She believes that a priest would help revive the townspeople's faith in God by putting up bars and girly joints.

The Last Virgin on Earth

2003

Ikaw Naman ang Iiyak poster
8.0

Elaine killed her stepfather while trying to defend her boyfriend Santi. After serving in prison for years, she is now out to fight and try to bring back her life, including Santi who already married another woman.

Ikaw Naman ang Iiyak

1996

Warat poster
4.0

Rex and Rica are G.I. babies born to American fathers they never knew. Raised by a rich, gay adoptive father, Rex grew up feeling worthless and alone. Rica was brought up by an arrogant aunt who always makes her feel like she's a good for nothing bitch. One day, his foster father is killed, and Rex is accused of the crime. Rica, on the other hand, flees from her cruel aunt. Their paths cross as they both try to escape their predicaments. Crime and passion draw them to each other, and the thrill of it all drives them to yearn for more. But truth has its way of signifying itself: the day comes when they both learn that they have the same father

Warat

1999

Mister Mo, Lover Ko poster
3.7

A film about sexual frustrations, middle-aged problems, workplace tensions, and other challenges that beset married and unmarried couples.

Mister Mo, Lover Ko

1999

Deadline - Reign of Impunity poster
NR

Ross Rivera is a writer whose cynicism has converted him into a government apologist, is suddenly forced to reassess his role as journalist when he finds himself right in the middle of unearthing a conspiracy linking Muntazir Ghazi, a local warlord, with election fraud and the sporadic killing of journalists in various parts of the country. While Ross wrestles with the his conscience and attempts to convince Greta Manarang, television newscaster and grieving girlfriend of a recently murdered journalist, of his newfound integrity in Manila, Azad and Claire, local journalists who are keep into the tracks of Ghazi, are hunted down by Ghazi's henchmen. Their stories eventually intertwine, revealing a more frustrated than concerned outlook of the state of free speech in a country that supposedly fosters democracy.

Deadline - Reign of Impunity

2011

Siblings poster
8.2

Lisa (Santos) and Cita (Cuneta) have a kinship as sisters, but their bond goes far beyond blood. The close-knit two are also best friends -- until a tragic misfortune strikes and the sisters' support system unravels.

Siblings

2002

Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di poster
NR

A culinary romance set in Binondo, where Chinese traditions are still very much observed, Mano Po 5: Gua Ay Di is a touching story of how a young Chinese woman fights for the man she loves. She is doomed by strict family traditions to only wed someone of pure Chinese descent. But Charity finds love where she was not supposed to find it... at least according to her cold-hearted mother. Despite being met with resistance by her traditional Chinese family, most especially her mother, Charity continues her relationship with Nathan. Nathan, on the other hand, proves himself and his love to her by making an effort to learn about her background, culture and language resulting into various mishaps, sometimes comical and other times just plain disastrous. Charity finds solace in the kitchen, her cooking interwoven with the story of her ill-fated romance. Will true love prevail in the end? And will she be able to come up with the perfect recipe for love?

Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di

2006

Because I Love You poster
9.0

Summer is a typical girl raised by a firefighter father which inspired her to follow his footsteps. She then meets Rael by chance a couple of times. Rael realizes he actually likes Summer but proving this to her is much more difficult and challenging.

Because I Love You

2019

When I Fall in Love poster
NR

A story about Fely and Armando, a year before their 40th wedding anniversary, Armando, a doctor, is diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Resigned to the fact that his chances of recovery are slim, he chooses to spend the little time he has left with Fely and his three children: Ricky, Nica, and Louie.

When I Fall in Love

2014

One More Rainbow poster
3.0

A former seaman long presumed dead returns to the Philippines and tries to reconnect with his wife and three children with the help of his gay best friend.

One More Rainbow

2020

One More Rainbow poster
3.0

A former seaman long presumed dead returns to the Philippines and tries to reconnect with his wife and three children with the help of his gay best friend.

One More Rainbow

2020

Mano Po 6: A Mother's Love poster
5.0

Melinda Uy is a half-Filipino, half-Chinese struggling mother to four children married to a full-Chinese blood man. Her family was believed to bring curse to Olive's famiily. Because of this, Melinda was not accepted by Uy's family as one of their members. Melinda's struggling as a mother begand when she has nothing else to do but to strive and work more.

Mano Po 6: A Mother's Love

2009

Bekis on the Run poster
2.0

A hoodlum and his gay brother rob a construction firm to fund their guardian's kidney transplant.

Bekis on the Run

2021

Lihis poster
5.0

The film splits itself between two timelines. In 2006, Ada is basing her thesis on a massacre that occurred twenty years prior in a village called Acacia. Her mother Cecilia was part of a fact-finding mission into a massacre, and Ada’s inquiries bring up her history as a member of the NPA. The other timeline traces the relationship of Ka Felix and Ka Jimmy, two rebels who fall in love, despite the movement’s laws against such a pairing.

Lihis

2013

This Time I’ll Be Sweeter poster
4.0

Erika and Tristan fell in love in their younger years. When they meet again, will Erika be willing to risk her heart again?

This Time I’ll Be Sweeter

2017

Bulaklak ng Maynila poster
9.0

A woman who falls under the sway of a crime boss plots to bring him down after a horrible betrayal in this drama from the Philippines. Azun (Elizabeth Oropesa) is a wife and mother living in a dangerous neighborhood in Manila, where she peddles goods on the street. Azun's husband Roque (Bembol Roco) becomes involved in a burglary that goes awry, leading to a lengthy jail sentence. With few options, and needing safety and support, Azun becomes involved with Timo (Christopher De Leon), leader of a local crime syndicate. But Timo's protection does not extend to Azun's teenage daughter Ada (Angelu De Leon); Timo rapes Ada, then forces her to leave her boyfriend (Jomari Yllana) and start dancing in his strip club. When Azun learns what Timo has done to Ada, she makes plans to get her revenge.

Bulaklak ng Maynila

1999

Peyri Teyl poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Peyri Teyl

—

Why Is There a Yesterday? poster
8.0

The story follows a village girl who is mysteriously spared when a platoon of soldiers led by Colonel Valderamma massacres her family, along with peasants accused of sympathizing with the communists. When the girl has grown up, her body has healed, but her mind is yet to recover from the horrible experience. She continues to thirst for revenge and crafts a scheme to exact retribution. She eyes the head of the military mission who instigated the carnage that she survived. He is now a well-admired retiring general who is about to cap his career with the service's highest honors.

Why Is There a Yesterday?

1996

Bahay Kubo: A Pinoy Mano Po! poster
6.0

Bahay Kubo: A Pinoy Mano Po! is a 2007 Regal Productions movie starring Maricel Soriano and Eric Quizon. The movie is one of the official entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Bahay Kubo: A Pinoy Mano Po!

2007

Burgos poster
NR

Burgos depicts a mother's search for her desaparecido. Ms. Lorna Tolentino plays Editha Burgos, mother of missing activist-farmer Jonas Burgos played by Rocco Nacino. The deeply religious Edith is a member of the House of Prayer, the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites.

Burgos

2013