‘Baka Bukas’ goes to Melbourne

Jasmine Curtis-Smith (left) and Louise delos Reyes in “Baka Bukas”

Samantha Lee’s award-winning movie, “Baka Bukas,” will be screened at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival in Australia from March 15 to 26.

The Melbourne screening is like coming full circle for Lee. She told the Inquirer: “I first got the idea for the film while I was living and working in Melbourne.”

She took her masters in Communication at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where she graduated with distinction. “Melbourne has always been significant for (lead actress) Jasmine [Curtis-Smith] and me. Jasmine grew up there, and I spent a couple of years there, too. So this (fest) feels like a homecoming for us,” Lee explained.

“Baka Bukas” is a product of the 2016 Cinema One film fest, where Curtis-Smith won best actress for her role as a budding lesbian.

Now on its 28th year, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival “strives to educate and entertain and celebrate diversity.” It will present a program consisting of 38 feature films, 14 documentaries and 72 short films. —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.