After winning accolades in Europe, celebrated director Raya Martin’s “Independencia” is all set to wow American audiences at the 47th Annual New York Film Festival from Sept. 25 to Oct. 11.

“Independencia” is only the third Filipino film to participate in the Festival after Lino Brocka's “Insiang” in 1976 and Brillante Mendoza's “Serbis” in 2008. Martin’s film stars actors Tetchie Agbayani, Alessandra da Rossi, and Sid Lucero. 

The Film Society of Lincoln Center, organizer of the New York Film Festival, has lauded Martin’s film describing it as a “stylized tale” that “offers a kind of alternative history of the Philippines and its struggle for nationhood."

“Independencia” became the first Filipino film to be included in the Un Certain Regard category of the Cannes International Film Festival early this year.

Set during the American occupation of the Philippines, the 77-minute epic portrays the Filipino’s struggle for freedom during those trying times.

“Independencia” more than just focuses on the usual gruesome sceneries depicted in almost all war movies. Rather, it delves deeper into the Filipino psyche – including its hunger for deliverance and continued struggle for identity.

“Independencia” is supported by Cannes Festival Cinefondation Residence, and it received funding grants from the IFFR (International Film Festival Rotterdam) Hubert Bals Fund Fall.

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant also awarded “Independencia” a grant amounting to €15,000 (P960,000) in the 2007 CineMart Awards in Rotterdam.

In 2008, it again received a grant worth €120,000 (P7 million) from the French government's Fonds Sud Cinema, a financial aid awarded by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to film productions in developing countries. “Independencia” is the first Filipino film to receive such grant.

According to Martin, 25, “Independencia” is meant to be understood as a “sequel” to “Maicling Pelicula ng Ysang Indio Nacional (O Ang Mahabang Kalungkutan ng Katagalugan),” an earlier work set during the Spanish period and starring various theater actors.