| Dead Sure | |||
| Native Name: |
| ||
| Director: | Tikoy Aguiluz | ||
| Producer: | Eric Cuatico | ||
| Starring: | Michelle Aldana | ||
| Music: | Jessie Lasaten | ||
| Cinematography: | Jun Dalawis | ||
| Studio: | Neo Films | ||
| Distributor: | Neo Films | ||
| Runtime: | 111 minutes | ||
| Country: | Philippines | ||
| Language: | Filipino | ||
Segurista (International title: Dead Sure) is a 1996 Philippine neo-noir drama film directed by Tikoy Aguiluz. The film was co-written by Aguiluz, Jose Lacaba, and Amado Lacuesta and stars Michelle Aldana as the title role.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Segurista was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival.[7] In its home market, the MTRCB did not approve this motion picture for public viewing, "X-rated",[8] but later approved it with cuts for Philippine theaters.[9]
By day, Karen Fernandez (Michelle Aldana) is a sales agent for an insurance company. She constantly meets sales targets set by her company and is considered as their top agent. By night, she covertly works as a guest relations officer (GRO), which she uses to draw her daytime clients to buy into her insurance product. All of her activities day and night are for one reason: securing the future of her family. Amidst the temptation of falling in love with her clients, Karen is focused on working hard for the money.
A tragedy occurs when a night of having fun went wrong. Resisting the advances of her friend's lover, she flees by riding a taxi. But the taxi driver himself had other plans as he decides to bring Karen to a lahar-infested area and satisfy his lust on her before killing her off. Her death served as a catalyst for change as her beneficiaries finally receive the fruits of her labor.[10]
Dead Sure won seven awards in the 21st Gawad Urian Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director,[11] Best Supporting Actor — Albert Martinez[12] — Best Screenplay and Best Editing — Edgardo “Boy” Viñarao and Mirana Medina-Bhunjun.[7]
The film was selected as the Philippines entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[13] [14]
When, at the end of the decade, eleven Filipino film critics rated the best films of the '90s for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Segurista was ranked second.[9]
Jema Pamintuan of Ateneo de Manila University, commented on how Segurista portrays, against a background of increasing female participation in the Philippine economy, the application of game-theoretic and probabilistic concepts for the Filipina struggling to manage the risk she faces in an economy characterized by a fluctuating economic and socio-political environment.[15]