4. Gun Dealer’s Daughter by Gina Apostol

Gina Apostol weaves a poignant novel about Sol, a rich girl turned Communist rebel. Apostol delivers a mesmerizing account of the ruling class using the clouded youthful lens of Sol as it shows a glimpse of the revolution during the Marcos era. The richness of the topic alone would make a film version as absorbing as the book.

3. Soledad’s Sister by Jose Dalisay Jr.

Jose Dalisay Jr’s Soldedad’s Sister focuses its theme on the lives of OFWs where it explores the lives of three characters as they intertwine into one another. The story mentions different places in the world like San Francisco, Jeddah, and Hong Kong where many Filipinos have migrated. It’s a story driven by hope, which is always a powerful film theme.

2. Fish-Hair Woman by Merlinda Bobis

Merlinda Bobis employs the use of magical realism in her Fish-Hair Woman, an apt literary genre for it, due to the nature of the story. Readers follow the curious Luke that brings him to the Philippines as he tries to uncover the story behind the mysterious manuscripts whose context is filled with confusions. An epic tale fit for film, though its multitude of voices will be a challenge to transpose into visual language.

1. Killing Time in a Warm Place by Jose Dalisay Jr.

Another of Jose Dalisay Jr’s novels, this one won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1992, KITWP’s backdrop is the Marcos years told through the eye of a middle-class Filipino named Noel Bulaong. Given today’s distorted, revisionist knowledge about the history and the resurgence of Marcos fanatics, there’s no better time than now to adapt this film.

What local novels do you want to be adapted into film? Tell us below!

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