Australia picks Ruby Ruiz film 'First Light' as Oscars 2027 entry

MANILA, Philippines — Australia has selected "First Light" starring Ruby Ruiz as its entry for the 2027 Academy Awards in the International Feature Film category.

The film is the feature debut of Filipino-Australian James J. Robinson having previously done editorial photography, two short films, and several music videos.

Robinson premiered the movie at last year's Melbourne International Film Festival, competing in the Bright Horizons section where he won Best Australian Director and AUD$50,000 (P2.24 million).

"First Light" is the first-ever Filipino-Australian co-production and first Tagalog-language film ever submitted by Australia for Oscars contention.

Filmed mainly in Baras, Rizal, it follows Ruiz's Sister Yolanda, middle-aged Catholic nun whose faith is shaken after a construction worker dies from suspect circumstances.

"As pressure mounts from the Church and state to suppress the truth, she finds herself questioning the institution she has devoted her life to," goes a synopsis.

Co-starring with Ruiz are Maricel Soriano, Rez Cortez, Soliman Cruz, Emmanuel Santos, Lui Manansala, Kara Adea, and Kidlat Tahimik.

Australia's selection committee described "First Light" as "a meditative work about an aging woman who questions her faith as her world begins to crumble around her, leaving an indelible mark" and hailed Robinson's impressing debut as "a shining example of Australian filmmaking."

The film premiered in the Philippines last June through Clou Media Productions via Cebuana producer Christelle Lou Dychangco.

"Our relationship with whatever is bigger out there than us is really not between institutions but a personal one at that," Dychangco had said in a statement. "Ultimately, I think the moral of the whole story also comes around to death and our fear of dying and I think that’s a very human and very relatable lesson and feeling that we all have."

Ruiz is having a monumental year having just won another Best Actress award at the most recent Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, making her the most-awarded actor at the festival ahead of the late Eddie Garcia.

Australia has submitted 18 films, including "First Light," to the Academy Awards in its history but only one has ever been nominated — "Tanna" in 2017; the International Feature Film winner that year was Iran's "The Salesman" by Asghar Farhadi, his second Oscar.

The Philippines was initially going to announce its own 2027 Oscars entry last September 4 but the Film Academy of the Philippines said the country's assembled selection committee needed more time for deliberation.

To date, no Filipino film has been nominated or even shortlisted for the International Feature Film category of the Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce on December 15 which 15 films will make the category's shortlist, to be trimmed down to five nominees on January 21 next year, and finally the 2027 Oscars on March 14.

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