Trailer
Plot summary
Emmy teaches in a small town and raises her son Enzo there. In 2007 her school also serves as a polling place, and she works the count as an election inspector. The race for mayor pits a former actor who campaigns on change against Hidalgo, the incumbent, who owns many local businesses and treats his employees badly, some of them Emmy's friends. A gang under Migs brings killings and snatched ballots to the campaign, while vote buying distorts the tally. With only Emmy's precinct still uncounted, a COMELEC representative asks for escorts to bring the final results to the governor. Emmy volunteers, and before she leaves, the principal handcuffs her to the ballot box.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Balota (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Kip Oebanda first considered Marian Rivera for the lead role of teacher Emmy after watching her in a pandemic-era production of Himala. Rivera joined the film after a script reading and discussions with Oebanda about its political themes, despite initial scheduling concerns.
- Marian Rivera refused to use a body double for her role as Emmy. She brushed off injury concerns, saying the adrenaline and focus of acting made her forget the risk of getting hurt, and that worrying about it would damage her performance.
- Oebanda recalled that Marian Rivera was so committed to the role that she frequently applied actual soil to her face and body during the scenes set in the forest, wanting to authentically experience her character's journey.
- Oebanda pointed to real Philippine election violence behind the story, citing the teachers Filomena Tatlonghari and Nellie Banaag, who were killed by gunmen in ambushes of polling precincts in the 1995 and 2007 elections.
- Balota was the first GMA Pictures entry to the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, the Philippine festival that showcases independent cinema.
