Sam Manacsa
Known For: Directing
Biography
Sam Manacsa is a Filipino filmmaker working across multiple disciplines. Her short film Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (2023) had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, while If People Such as We Cease to Exist (2016) was selected for the International Competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. She is an alumna of SEAFIC Seed Lab (2022) and TIFF Directors’ Lab (2025). As a production designer, she has worked on award-winning films, including Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather Is Fine (Locarno, 2021) and Siyou Tan’s Amoeba (TIFF, 2025). She is also a film programmer for FREEPERIOD Cinema.
Filmography
2026
- Amoeba ... (Production Design)
- Open Endings ... (Production Design)
- Annisa ... (Director)
- And If Thuy Didn't Exist ... (Producer)
2024
- Water Sports ... (Creative Consultant)
- Cold Cut ... (Production Design)
- Nightbirds ... (Production Design)
2023
- Five Breakups and a Romance ... (Art Direction)
- A Catholic Schoolgirl ... (Production Design)
- Primetime Mother ... (Production Design)
- Cross My Heart and Hope to Die ... (Director)
2021
- Whether the Weather Is Fine ... (Art Direction)
2019
- Spid ... (Assistant Director)
- Sakaling Maging Tayo ... (Art Direction)
- Sila-Sila ... (Art Direction)
2018
- Never Tear Us Apart ... (Art Direction)
2017
- Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month ... (Art Direction)
2016
- Baka Bukas ... (Art Direction)
- If People Such as We Cease to Exist ... (Script)