Balota () is a 2024 Philippine political thriller film written and directed by Kip Oebanda. The film stars Marian Rivera as Emmy, a teacher who is thrust into a dangerous situation during a volatile local election, with Will Ashley, Nico Antonio, Royce Cabrera, Raheel Bhyria, Sue Prado, Felix Petate, Esnyr, Donna Cariaga, Joel Saracho, Gardo Versoza, and Mae Paner in supporting roles. The film premiered in competition at the 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival on August 2, 2024. It was produced by GMA Pictures, GMA Entertainment Group, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
Emmy is a teacher living with her son Enzo in an unnamed town. She is also an election worker who monitors the voting process held in her school, which becomes a polling station during the 2007 elections. The campaign is marred by killings and ballot-snatching by a gang led by Migs as well as vote-buying for the mayoralty race, which is contested by Edraline, a former actor campaigning on a change platform, and the corrupt incumbent, Hidalgo, who owns multiple businesses and mistreats her employees, among them Emmy's friends.
The election is tightly-fought, with only the results from Emmy's precinct uncounted. A COMELEC representative appears at the school and asks for escorts to transport the ballot box containing the results to the governor. Emmy volunteers and is joined by a colleague, Waks. Before leaving, the principal handcuffs Emmy to the ballot box to protect the votes inside. Along the way, the COMELEC representative tries to bribe them to surrender the box, but when the two refuse he pulls out a gun and mortally wounds Waks. Emmy bludgeons the shooter to death with her ballot box and flees.
Emmy hides in the back of a passing truck, but later flees into the forest after overhearing police at a checkpoint telling the driver to stay silent over Waks and the COMELEC representative's deaths. Emmy phones Enzo, who is with her cousin Melissa and her son Jimbo. Two policemen, Morales and Pastor, arrive and arrest Enzo, who hides his phone. In prison, the officers tell Enzo that Emmy is the suspect in the double murder of Waks and the COMELEC representative. Jimbo follows Enzo to the police station, but is captured and held hostage along with Melissa by Migs. He demands Emmy reveal her whereabouts but Jimbo stabs Migs, resulting in Migs shooting both Jimbo and Melissa dead as Emmy listens. At their rendezvous, Emmy stabs Migs in the neck with a pen and pushes him down a slope to his death.
As Pastor and Morales transport Enzo, Pastor discovers Enzo's phone, prompting him to stage Enzo's mock execution while calling Emmy to overhear the event. However, Morales kills Pastor when he attempts to summarily execute Enzo on false charges. Morales rescues Enzo and reveals that he is indebted to Emmy, his former teacher, for accepting him as gay. However, he reveals that he doesn't know who he is taking orders from.
Emmy, believing Hidalgo to be responsible for the ballot-snatching, seeks help from Edraline at his estate, but realizes that he orchestrated the incident after he tries to bribe her to surrender the box. Emmy discreetly warns Enzo as she flatters Edraline to buy time. Knowing that Edraline is just as corrupt as his opponent, Enzo and Morales mobilize the community against Edraline, despite their resentment against Hidalgo. They storm Edraline's estate and rescue Emmy just as Edraline sees through her ruse and prepares to kill her. As Edraline is led away after being arrested by Morales, Hidalgo arrives to express her appreciation to Emmy for securing the ballot box, whose results guarantee her reelection. However, Emmy reveals her contempt for both Hidalgo and Edraline and demands that Hidalgo treat her employees fairly in exchange for her certifying that no voter fraud had occurred. Hidalgo reluctantly complies.
At the next election, Hidalgo is suspended for corruption while an imprisoned Edraline runs again facing Emmy's friend Babe, for the mayorship. Emmy, now a school principal who reprises her role as an election worker, watches and curses in frustration at the state of politics in the country.
After directing Bar Boys (2017) and Liway (2018), Oebanda also helmed this project. The film stars Marian Rivera as Emmy, a teacher responsible for safeguarding a crucial ballot box during a politically charged crisis. Oebanda praised Rivera for her profound emotional range and commitment to the role. He first considered Rivera for the film after watching her performance in a pandemic-era rendition of Himala, directed by her husband Dingdong Dantes. Despite initial concerns about RiveraâÂÂs availability due to her busy schedule, a successful script reading and shared political perspectives led to her agreement to join the project. Rivera stated that she did not want to use a body double in her role in the film. She also dismissed concerns about potential injuries, noting that the adrenaline and focus required for acting made her forget about the risk of getting hurt. She believed that if she focused on the possibility of injury, it would negatively impact her performance. Will Ashley, who plays Enzo in the film, is also part of the cast.
The film features social media personalities Felix Petate known for as Sassa Gurl and Esnyr, recognized for his role in Shake, Rattle & Roll Extreme (2023). Oebanda's casting choices reflect a desire to question traditional political narratives and highlight the contributions of women and LGBTQ+ individuals in political activism. The film is co-produced by GMA Pictures, GMA Entertainment Group, and Film Development Council of the Philippines. In addition to Rivera, the supporting cast includes Royce Cabrera, Nico Antonio, Raheel Bhyria, Sue Prado, Joel Saracho, Gardo Versoza, Mae Paner, and Donna Cariaga.
The central themes of the film delivers a clear message about the corruption, deceit, integrity, and democracy that plague Philippine elections, it also examines the dangers of blindly idolizing politicians. However, rather than presenting fresh insights or a thought-provoking perspective, the film reiterates issues that are already well-known to many Filipinos.
Oebanda expressed that while the corruption of the electoral system is a longstanding issue, it does not have to be inevitable. He highlighted the prevalence of violence in Philippine elections, including poll officials being murdered, widespread vote buying, and corrupt state forces. He also referenced the silent martyrs, such as real-life teachers Filomena Tatlonghari and Nellie Banaag, who died in an attack by gunmen on a polling precinct during the 1995 and 2007 elections, respectively.
The film's official teaser was released on July 5, 2024, providing an initial look at the film. The official poster was revealed on July 12, 2024. The 30-second official trailer was released on July 22, 2024.
The film premiered at Cinemalaya on August 3, 2024 and at the Hawaii International Film Festival on October 6, 2024 and released nationwide on October 16, 2024. It was also released on Netflix on January 31, 2025.
A week into the Cinemalaya festival, the film was revealed to be one of the top two performing films in terms of ticket sales, according to the Cinemalaya organization.
Critical reception for the film was generally positive. According to review aggregator site Kritikultura, the film received a score of 70/100 based on 14 reviews, indicating a favorable reception. Most reviews praised Marian Rivera's performance.
Stephanie Mayo of Daily Tribune reviewed Balota as part of her coverage of Cinemalaya films. She praised Rivera for her committed portrayal of Teacher Emmy, a character who stands up for what is right while handcuffed to a ballot box. However, Mayo criticized the filmâÂÂs comedic and theatrical elements, which she felt weakened its potential for strong, impactful commentary. She described the film as aiming for crowd-pleasing rather than delivering a subtle and effective message, ultimately giving it a 2 out of 5 stars rating.
Writing for Spot, Philbert Dy noted that the film touches on widely accepted issues: flawed elections, a lack of good candidates, and the positive role of teachers. The review criticized the filmâÂÂs approach to political satire as toothless, stating that it reiterates known points without adding depth. However, as mainstream entertainment, it could be seen as edgy. He praised Rivera's performance, describing her as the film's fun and profane moral center, playing a whirlwind of a woman who is not afraid to flip people off or yell at them.
Kathleen A. Llemit of The Philippine Star said of Rivera's performance, "Do not let her award-winning performance in 'Balota,' which earned her the Cinemalaya Best Actress, be just another footnote in her Wikipedia page." She further praised Balota for "speaking to [viewers] in the language they are familiar with â easily digestible and understandable, without beating around the bush", unlike "highbrow" films.
Actor John Arcilla praised Rivera's performance in the film, calling it "such an admirable act". He commended Rivera's talent and significant contribution to the film, noting her role as a standout element in the production.
Society of Filipino Film Reviewers included the film in their top three films for the festival, with an average rating of 3.63 out of 5 stars rating.