Immaculada: A short feature film

• Main Authors: Moralde, Juan Pio Miguel, Poticano, Chelby Therese, Tiu, Heddy Anne
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Short films > Philippines; Short films > Production and direction > Philippines; Communication
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/8856
• Institution: De La Salle University

Immaculada is a 16-minute film that tackles the topics of blind faith/following, fanaticism, and religious devotee culture in the Philippines through the story of Anna Concepcion and her daughter, Rosa Concepcion's unexpected pregnancy. The plot revolves around the maternal relationship between the mother and daughter as Anna frames Rosa's pregnancy as the second coming of Christ. Preparing for Rosa's grand ceremony as the new Virgin Mary, Rosa tries to persuade Anna to stop the religious antics as Rosa has been forced to perform fake religious acts and miracles to fool the people living in their nearby community. Anna does not want to stop doing these antics as they make fame and fortune from this religious deception. Tension arises as Rosa becomes resistant in continuing on with deceiving the community as she wants to live a normal life with her unborn child and its father, Joseph. As Rosa physically rebels against Anna, they get into a fight to which Rosa loses. Compelled, Rosa proceeds with the grand ceremony as she is intimidated by Anna to save their reputation. Due to the violence and stress she experiences during the fight, Rosa encounters a miscarriage in the middle of the ceremony exposing her and her mother's fake act. Through the genre of satire, Immaculada aims to show the flaws within religious communities in the Philippines and how they can be blinded by their devotion to faith. It also aims to highlight religious fanaticism and familial suppression found within the Filipino culture. Immaculada is a call out to the hypocrisy, bigotry, and the underlying issues within the members of religious communities.