Directing
Sam Manacsa
Known for
Directing
Credits
7 titles
Sam Manacsa is a Filipino filmmaker working across multiple disciplines. Her short film Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (2023) had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, while If People Such as We Cease to Exist (2016) was selected for the International Competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She is an alumna of SEAFIC Seed Lab (2022) and TIFF Directors’ Lab (2025). As a production designer, she has worked on award-winning films, including Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather Is Fine (Locarno, 2021) and Siyou Tan’s Amoeba (TIFF, 2025). She is also a film programmer for FREEPERIOD Cinema.
Known for
NRIn a crowded housing complex, Anissa, a blind teenage girl navigates a world mainly shaped by sound. As a neighborhood national day celebration unfolds around her, she finds an unexpected way to be heard, reclaiming her place within the noise that surrounds her.
Annisa
2026
NRBuffering through a new country on odd jobs and a phone that speaks for her. An undocumented immigrant is now ready to pair.
And If Thuy Didn't Exist
2026
4.0Mila struggles as she remains unpaid at work and finds comfort in a love interest through his constant phone calls.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
2023
NRA grieving widow attempts to find the missing piece of her husband's remains.
If People Such as We Cease to Exist
2016
When 19-year-old Rosemary is the last to see a young boy before he disappears, she finds herself alongside his grieving mother, Agnes, in search of him. In the stillness of their shared days, they are drawn to confront their unspoken grief and forgotten dreams.
The Void Is Immense in Idle Hours
—
Behind the camera
NRIn a crowded housing complex, Anissa, a blind teenage girl navigates a world mainly shaped by sound. As a neighborhood national day celebration unfolds around her, she finds an unexpected way to be heard, reclaiming her place within the noise that surrounds her.
Annisa
2026
NRBuffering through a new country on odd jobs and a phone that speaks for her. An undocumented immigrant is now ready to pair.
And If Thuy Didn't Exist
2026
4.0Mila struggles as she remains unpaid at work and finds comfort in a love interest through his constant phone calls.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
2023
4.0Mila struggles as she remains unpaid at work and finds comfort in a love interest through his constant phone calls.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
2023
NRA grieving widow attempts to find the missing piece of her husband's remains.
If People Such as We Cease to Exist
2016
When 19-year-old Rosemary is the last to see a young boy before he disappears, she finds herself alongside his grieving mother, Agnes, in search of him. In the stillness of their shared days, they are drawn to confront their unspoken grief and forgotten dreams.
The Void Is Immense in Idle Hours
—
When 19-year-old Rosemary is the last to see a young boy before he disappears, she finds herself alongside his grieving mother, Agnes, in search of him. In the stillness of their shared days, they are drawn to confront their unspoken grief and forgotten dreams.
The Void Is Immense in Idle Hours
—