''Isang Himala'' () is a 2024 Philippine

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

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 co-produced and directed by Pepe Diokno from a script he co-wrote with

Ricky Lee Ricardo Arreola Lee ONA (born March 19, 1948) is a Filipino screenwriter, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Starting in 1973, he has written more than 180 film screenplays and collaborated with many of the Philippines' most notable film di ...

. It is based on a 2018 theatrical play of the same name, itself an adaptation of the 1982 film ''

Himala ''Himala'' ('Miracle') is a 1982 Philippine religious drama film directed by Ishmael Bernal and produced by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. It stars Nora Aunor as a young woman living in the province who claims to have seen a Marian ...

''. The film underperformed in the box office, failing to enter the Top 3 in the top performing MMFF entries in box-office sales.

Premise

Based on

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (May 21, 1953 – April 16, 2025), known professionally as Nora Aunor (), was a Filipino actress, producer and singer. Known for her leading roles with patriotic, feminist and Political sociology, socio-political th ...

, the film traces back the story of Elsa, a visionary turned faith healer of her town.

Cast

Aicelle Santos Aicelle Anne Coronel Santos-Zambrano (born February 24, 1985) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, pianist and actress who first emerged in the Philippine music scene as a contestant in ''Star in a Million''. She has been known as the "First Un ...

as Elsa, a young woman in Cupang who allegedly saw an apparition of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Santos portrayed Elsa in the 2018 theatrical play directed by Ed Lacson Jr. and reprises the role in the 2024 musical film. *

Bituin Escalante Bituin Escalante (born April 23, 1977) is a Filipina singer and actress. She is considered the Philippines' best female vocalists having been active since 2000, and notably due to the success of her Himig Handog entry "Kung Ako Na Lang Sana". C ...

as Aling Saling, Elsa's mother Escalante played the character in the 2018 play and reprises the role. *Floyd Tena as a Priest. *David Ezra as Orly, a journalist from Manila saw Elsa *Neomi Gonzales as Chayong, a close friend of Elsa. *Kakki Teodoro as Nimia, a close friend of Elsa. *Vic Robinson as Pilo, a Chayong's boyfriend. *Joann Co as Sepa, a believer of the apparition Elsa saw

, who starred in the 1982 film as Elsa, made a cameo appearance in a movie. A significant portion of the cast of ''Isang Himala'' comes from a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

background.

Production

''Isang Himala'' is a co-production of Kapitol Films and Uxs, Inc. Pepe Diokno will direct the feature film with the screenplay written also by him alongside

. ''Isang Himala'' is based on the

theatrical play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging fr ...

, ''Himala: Isang Musikal,'' which premiered in 2018. The play itself was based on the 1982 film ''

'' which starred

and directed by

Ishmael Bernal Ishmael Bernal (September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996) was a Philippines, Filipino filmmaker, stage and television director, actor and screenwriter. Noted for his melodramas, particularly with feminist and moral issues, he directed many landmark ...

The feature film was announced in July 2024 as one of first five entries of the

2024 Metro Manila Film Festival The 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) was held from December 25, 2024 to January 14, 2025 as the 50th edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival. During the festival, no foreign films are shown in Philippine theaters (excluding IMAX a ...

as a script submission.

Release

As one of the ten official entries of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival, ''Isang Himala'' had its theatrical release in cinemas in the Philippines on December 25, 2024 with four cinemas on the first day and then six cinemas on the second day. The film is also scheduled to premiere at the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on January 30, 2025.

Reception

Box office

It is one of the lowest selling MMFF 2024 entry along with ''

My Future You ''My Future You'' is a 2024 Philippine romantic comedy film written and directed by Crisanto B. Aquino. Starring Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin, it revolves around two strangers from different timelines meeting each other in a dating app. It co- ...

'' and '' Hold Me Close''. The film was a

Box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

due to failed to hit box office hit sales and one of the underrated film of 2024. As of January 2, 2025, the film failed to enter the Top 5 and Top 3 in the top performing MMFF entries in box-office sales.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline
Isang himala

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

2024 films 2024 musical films 2024 drama films Films based on musicals based on films Philippine musical drama films Films with screenplays by Ricky Lee Marian apparitions in film Films about faith healing Filipino films based on plays 2020s Philippine films