Volleyball fever spikes its way to Cinemalaya with "Rookie"

Pat Tingjuy and Aya Fernandez

The past weekend saw a packed volleyball schedule with leagues/tournaments wrapping up here and abroad.

PhilSports Arena saw Japanese club team Kurashiki Ablaze beat the Creamline Cool Smashers in a thrilling 5-setter to take the PVL Invitational Conference title.

Over in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, the Indonesian squad completed a sweep of both legs of the men's SEA V.League.

Overseas, the French women's team and the Turkish men's team bagged the VNL Cup Challenge titles thus earning them much coveted spots to next year's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Tournament.

This weekend, a mostly collegiate squad  suits up for the Philippines as the women see action for their edition of the SEA V.League.

Coincidentally, the volleyball fever crosses over from the courts to the silver screen with Rookie, one of the competing entries in the full length category at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival XIX happening this August 4-13, 2023 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Directed by Samantha Lee and written by Natts Jadaone, Rookie tells the story of Ace, played by Pat Tingjuy, who reluctantly joins the volleyball squad of her new school. Things change when she falls in love with the team captain Jana, portrayed by Aya Fernandez, although the latter sees Ace as a rival. The film also stars Agot Isidro and will also feature cameo appearances by star volleyball athletes Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Ara Galang.

Rookie is about the moments in our life that shape us. It‘s about how the lessons and the people from our younger days come together to help make us into a person. It’s about learning and losing and how to learn from all that losing. And ultimately it’s about how society is still very much rigged against women but we continue to play to win anyway. 

Samantha Lee, director

Sport themed films are no stranger to Cinemalaya with last year's Ginhawa and Cinemalaya 18 Best Picture The Baseball Player as prime examples. It was only a matter of time that volleyball found its way to Philippine cinemas considering women's volleyball has been rivaling men's basketball in terms of popularity for the past several years.

Given the sport's massive following, I wondered why there aren't many volleyball films yet. More so, queerness in sports is rarely explored. As the film's potential started to take root, my 5y.o. niece suddenly told me she wanted to be an athlete. When I asked what sport, she said volleyball, because it's for girls and basketball is for boys. I then realized how these gendered ideas form at such an early age and questioned if we want to continue perpetuating these misconceptions.

A female-centric film hinged on a well-loved sport, Rookie explores the sensitive yet timely issues of gender inequality and objectification of women in male-dominated spaces.

Natts Jadaone, writer

Catch Rookie at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival this August 4-13, 2023 at the Philippine International Convention Center and at select Ayala Cinemas around Metro Manila.