Director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and producer Sylvia Sanchez champion real inclusion in MMFF 2025 Entry, targeting a sustained shift in industry casting.
For the first time in the history of Philippine cinema, a mainstream feature film is led by actors with Down Syndrome, not as symbols of inspiration, not as comic relief, and not as background texture, but as the heart and center of the story.
“I’mPerfect,” directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, arrives at the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival carrying something rare: not just representation, but opportunity and inclusion.
The decade-long push for inclusion
That idea of inclusion became tangible when the “I’mPerfect” team paid the Radar PH office a visit. The conversation unfolded easily, without performance or pretense. It felt less like an interview and more like a shared afternoon, the kind where personalities surface naturally through small preferences and quiet moments.
Later, the discussion turned to what the film could make possible. Producer Sylvia Sanchez, head of Nathan Studios, spoke candidly about wanting the film to succeed not just as an MMFF entry, but as a starting point. If it earns well, she hopes it will allow her to develop and produce more projects for lead actors Anne Krystel Daphne Go and Earl Jonathan Amaba, careers she is now seriously considering managing. In that room, the film’s ambition felt clear: not a one-time gesture, but a sustained shift toward real inclusion.
Direk Sigrid has been pushing for this film for more than a decade. Long before “inclusive casting” entered public conversations, she had already been running acting workshops for people with disabilities, and seeing firsthand what the industry refused to see.
“I realized the myths I grew up believing were wrong,” she says. “They are capable. They can work. They can act. We just don’t give them a chance.”
That realization became the seed of “I’mPerfect.” In 2009, she began training students; by 2012, she traveled abroad for research and saw how far inclusion had already taken root elsewhere. “They can commute on their own, they can live together, they can work,” she recalls. “In the Philippines, that’s still a dream.”
So she wrote a feature. She pitched it everywhere. She won at the FDCP Film Pitch (a program by the Film Development Council of the Philippines that connects filmmakers with producers and industry partners to fund film projects). She created a teaser in 2017 so producers could see proof, not just possibility.
What pushed her further was loss: their original actor for the role of Jiro passed away in 2017. “It made me even more determined to keep going,” she says quietly.
Krystel and Earl: not novelty, but correction
Her current leads—Earl and Krystel—step into the characters of Jessica and Jiro with a clarity and emotional presence that upended even her expectations. They understand the weight of this moment, even if they express it in ways that feel beautifully grounded: bonding, family, love, the joy of eating together between takes.
What they return to most is support. How Krystel shows up for Earl during emotional scenes. How Earl stays on set just to be there for Krystel when it’s her turn. “They hug each other after takes,” Sigrid says. “They really lift each other.”
Sigrid watched their process closely. Krystel, she says, is advanced, able to move in and out of character with ease. Earl needs to internalize more deeply. He uses affection as motivation. “Sometimes he’ll tell Krystel, ‘I love you,’” she says, half-laughing at the memory. “That’s how he prepares.”
These are the kinds of artistic processes the industry rarely sees because the industry rarely gives actors like Krystel and Earl the platform to reveal them.
Sustained inclusion: The producer’s vision
Producer Sylvia Sanchez, head of Nathan Studios, spoke candidly about wanting the film to succeed not just as an MMFF entry, but as a starting point. If it earns well, she hopes it will allow her to develop and produce more projects for the lead actors’ careers, which she is now seriously considering managing.
This is why “I’mPerfect” matters. Not as novelty. Not as a feel-good exception. But as a correction, a step toward cinema that acknowledges the full humanity of people with disabilities. It’s not about what they “can’t do,” but about what they can achieve when given the freedom to do so.
If the film carries emotion, it’s because the work does. Sigrid recalls the final scenes of Earl’s character: “I cried,” she admits. “I didn’t expect to see him go that deep.”
And yet, the clearest expression of what “I’mPerfect” stands for didn’t happen in a dramatic moment, but in the spaces in between. After takes, when Sigrid was worn out, she would see the crew begin to dance… because the actors were already dancing. The set would transform into a small celebration: spontaneous, joyful, and unfiltered.
A dance that said, without needing to, this is our space too.
A dance that makes you wonder why Philippine cinema waited this long, and what could happen now that the door has finally been pushed open.
“I’mPerfect,” produced by Nathan Studios, also features Sanchez, Janice de Belen, Joey Marquez, Lorna Tolentino, Tonton Gutierrez, Zaijian Jaranilla, and Bea Mendoza. The 51st MMFF runs from Christmas Day to Jan. 7, 2026.
I realized the myths I grew up believing were wrong. They are capable. They can work. They can act. We just don’t give them a chance.
Director Sigrid Andrea Bernardos
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