''Segurista'' (International title: ''Dead Sure'') is a 1996

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Tikoy Aguiluz Amable Reyes "Tikoy" Aguiluz VI (September 23, 1947 – February 18, 2024) was a Filipino film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. In 1999, he founded the Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila. Aguiluz was one of ...

. The film was co-written by Aguiluz, Jose Lacaba, and Amado Lacuesta and stars Michelle Aldana as the title role. ''Segurista'' was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival. In its home market, the

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pict ...

did not approve this motion picture for public viewing, "X-rated", but later approved it with cuts for Philippine theaters.

Plot

By day, Karen Fernandez (Michelle Aldana) is a sales agent for an insurance company. She constantly meets sales targets set by her company and is considered as their top agent. By night, she covertly works as a guest relations officer (GRO), which she uses to draw her daytime clients to buy into her insurance product. All of her activities day and night are for one reason: securing the future of her family. Amidst the temptation of falling in love with her clients, Karen is focused on working hard for the money. A tragedy occurs when a night of having fun went wrong. Resisting the advances of her friend's lover, she flees by riding a taxi. But the taxi driver himself had other plans as he decides to bring Karen to a lahar-infested area and satisfy his lust on her before killing her off. Her death served as a catalyst for change as her beneficiaries finally receive the fruits of her labor.

Cast

*Michelle Aldana as Karen Fernandez *

Gary Estrada Gary Jason Bocaling Ejercito (; born May 16, 1971), better known as Gary Estrada, is a Filipino actor and politician. He was a former talent of Viva Films during his early years, starring in action and drama films. He is also a politician, ha ...

as Sonny Reyes *

Ruby Moreno is a Filipino actress who is based in Japan. She is represented by Inagawa Motoko Office. She appeared in various films and television shows in Japan as well as in a number of Philippine films. She won several acting awards including the award ...

as Ruby Dimagiba *

Albert Martinez Alberto Pineda Martinez (born April 19, 1961), is a Filipino actor, producer, and director. Dubbed as the "''King of Philippine Teleseryes''", he has since established himself as one of the most omnipresent figures in Philippine television and ...

as Jake * Julio Diaz as Eddie *

Pen Medina Crispin "Pen" Parungao Medina Sr. (born August 27, 1950, in Arayat, Pampanga) is an actor from the Philippines who started acting in theater plays in his youth. He eventually played versatile roles on the big screen and in various television s ...

as Pepe Moreno *

Eddie Rodriguez Luis Clemente Enriquez (August 23, 1932 – October 12, 2001), better known by his stage name Eddie Rodriguez, was a Filipino film actor and director. Early life Enriquez was born on August 23, 1932, in Zamboanga City. He spent his childhood ...

as Lawyer *

Liza Lorena Elizabeth Ann Jolene Luciano Winsett (born October 31, 1948) known professionally as Liza Lorena is a Filipina actress. She was a First Runner-Up in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 1966. Career Lorena was a flight stewardess (for PAL domest ...

as Mrs. Librada *

Suzette Ranillo Maria Suzette Sevilla Ranillo (born January 11, 1961) is a Filipino actress who started at the age of 12 as an actress with the screen name, Nadia Veloso. She is well known for her awards and successes in film, television and theater. Biograph ...

as Brian * Teresa Loyzaga as Grace *Anthony Castelo as Technocrat *Roy de Guzman as Male Customer *Manjo del Mundo as Caloy *Celsar Bendigo as Joemar *Evelyn Vargas as Candy *Melisse Santiago as Winnie *

Vangie Labalan Maria Cristina Labalan (born January 20, 1943), known professionally as Vangie Labalan is a Filipino actress, comedian, acting coach, and voice actress. Life Maria Cristina Labalan was born on January 20, 1943 in Bago, Negros Occidental. She is ...

as Aling Choleng *Pocholo Montes as Club Manager

Awards

''Dead Sure'' won seven awards in the 21st Gawad Urian Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor — Albert Martinez — Best Screenplay and Best Editing — Edgardo “Boy” Viñarao and Mirana Medina-Bhunjun. The film was selected as the Philippines entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Continued interest and influence

When, at the end of the decade, eleven Filipino film critics rated the best films of the '90s for the

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded broad ...

, ''Segurista'' was ranked second.

Academia

Segurista has been cited in scholarly works on

Risk Management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

Game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...

and CO₂ utilization in products in

Small Island Developing States The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing country, developing countries which are small island country, island countries and small states that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include s ...

. Jema Pamintuan of Ateneo de Manila University, commented on how ''Segurista'' portrays, against a background of increasing female participation in the

Philippine economy The economy of the Philippines is an emerging market, and considered as a newly industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2025, the Philippine economy is estimated to be at ₱28.50 trillion ($497.5 billion), making it the world's ...

, the application of

game-theoretic Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...

and

probabilistic Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

concepts for the Filipina struggling to manage the risk she faces in an economy characterized by a fluctuating economic and socio-political environment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Sure 1996 films 1996 drama films Neo Films films Philippine drama films 1990s Tagalog-language films Films directed by Tikoy Aguiluz Films with screenplays by Jose "Pete" Lacaba Films with screenplays by Amado Lacuesta Jr. Films scored by Jessie Q. Lasaten