''Sister Stella L.'' is a 1984 Philippine political drama film co-written and directed by Mike de Leon. The film written by de Leon,

Pete Lacaba Jose Maria Flores Lacaba, popularly known as Pete Lacaba, is a Filipino screenwriter, editor, poet, journalist and translator. Early life Born in Misamis Oriental in 1945 to Jose Monreal Lacaba of Loon, Bohol and Fe Flores from Pateros, Rizal. H ...

, and Jose Almojuela was based and inspired by the life and experiences of Sister Chayong Battung and it revolves around a nun becoming politically involved as she took part in a strike where she fought for the rights of the workers. It stars Vilma Santos as the titular nun of the film, Jay Ilagan, Gina Alajar,

Laurice Guillen Laurice Ilagan Guillen-Feleo (born January 31, 1947) is a Filipino actress, film and television director, and college professor. Early life and acting career Guillen studied at St. Theresa's College, Cebu City, earned an AB English degree before ...

, and

Tony Santos Sr. Antonio P. Santos Sr. (April 10, 1920 – February 7, 1988), better known as Tony Santos Sr., was a Filipino film and television actor and director. He is known for his work as lead actor in '' Badjao'' and ''Anak Dalita'', as well as for the role ...

Initially, Mike de Leon wanted to produce the film by himself. However, because of financial limitations, he was forced to ask Regal Films founder and executive producer Lily Monteverde to join as producer and she agreed. Produced and released by Regal Films on July 11, 1984, the film was a commercial failure but received acclaim when it won ten awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Director, from the Gawad Urian Awards. It also competed at the

41st Venice International Film Festival The 41st annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 1984 under the direction of Gian Luigi Rondi. No Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was assigned. The main event of this edition was, out of competition, the pre ...

for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

but lost to Krzysztof Zanussi's '' A Year of the Quiet Sun''.

Synopsis

Sister Stella Legaspi is a nun who serves as a guidance counselor for people who have problems, including abused women and runaways. Later on, she became involved in sociopolitical issues as she took part in a strike organized by the laborers.

Cast

* Vilma Santos as Sister Stella Legaspi * Jay Ilagan as Nick Fajardo * Gina Alajar as Gigi *Laurice Guillen as Sister Stella Bautista *

as Ka Dencio * Anita Linda as Auring *Eddie Infante as Ka Sidring *Adul de Leon as Sister Juaning *Rody Vera as Roger * Pen Medina as Nes *Jojo Sanchez as Sister Carmen * Raquel Villavicencio as Sister Annie *Malou de Guzman as Soledad *Joe Jardi and Waldo Reyes as Goons * Ruben Rustia as Factory Manager * Liza Lorena as Magazine Editor *Fred Capulong as Kapitan

Restoration

In June 2023, the Film Development Council of the Philippines announced that they teamed up with Regal Entertainment to restore two films from the said film studio that starred Vilma Santos, among the two is the 1984 film ''Sister Stella L.''

References

Works cited

External links

* {{Mike de Leon, state=expanded 1984 films 1984 drama films Filipino-language films Films about the labor movement Philippine drama films