Biography

Shaina Garcia Magdayao is an acclaimed Filipino actress. Known primarily for her dramatic roles in film and television, she began her career as a child actress and starred in her first titular role, Lyra.

She has received accolades from various local award-giving bodies such as FAMAS, Metro Manila Film Festival Award, Young Critics Circle, Gawad Pasado, in addition to nominations from Gawad Urian (Philippines’ equivalent to the Oscars). Her works have also competed and screened in numerous prestigious film festivals around the world such as Cannes Film Festival, Berlinale, Locarno Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. She could very well be the only mainstream actress in her contemporary whose films have graced and competed in the world’s biggest festivals. Her penchant for acting in films that are not just in the commercial stream has brought her presence known in the global film stage. In last year’s Busan International Film Festival, she has graced events with Song Kang-ho of Parasite, Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game and Mr Sunshine, and Yoo Teo of Past Lives.

She is known to act in numerous Lav Diaz’s films with the very recent one in Locarno Main Competition, Essential Truths of the Lake. She also wowed the international audience in the Lav Diaz Cannes entry, The Halt and his Berlinale Main Competition masterpiece, Season of the Devil, which won in Cartagena Film Festival and the local FAMAS awards. Her presence is also felt in her shows in the streaming platform giants Netflix and Amazon Prime for Almost Paradise Seasons 2.