MANILA, Philippines — A Cinema One Originals festival entry “Metamorphosis,” which was originally rated X, has been reclassified as R-16 by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) without cuts.
Director Jose Tiglao shared Thursday the news over Twitter after he appealed to the MTRCB.
“Nagtagumpay tayong palayain ang paruparo! From X rating to R-16 (16yo above are allowed to watch the film)! And we promise you that NOTHING has been compromised– no shots or scenes have been cut,” Tiglao said.
(We succeeded in freeing the butterfly.From X rating to R-16 (16yo above are allowed to watch the film)! And we promise you that NOTHING has been compromised– no shots or scenes have been cut)
Nagtagumpay tayong palayain ang paruparo! From X rating to R-16 (16yo above are allowed to watch the film)! And we promise you that NOTHING has been compromised– no shots or scenes have been cut. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng nag-ingay at narinig nila tayo! #LabanMeta #MetaFilm pic.twitter.com/6FPAGwEctk
— J.E. Tiglao (@Pigeon_X_) November 7, 2019
MTRCB chair Rachel Arenas said the first set of board members who reviewed the film found it not suitable for public exhibition due to “prolonged” exposure of actors and a scene that involves “masturbation.”
“So there were three board members earlier that reviewed it and found it that it’s not for public exhibition. Because nga there was a prolonged exposure of the private parts of the actors and then parang there was a scene of long masturbation,” Arenas told INQUIRER.net Thursday in a phone interview.
The movie, Arenas said, was reviewed for the second time by a different set of board members and said the aforementioned scenes were “tastefully done.”
“According to those that reviewed, it was tastefully done and parang there was a part that has to be shown talaga at the end of the movie because the movie’s all about that,” Arenas said.
(According to those that reviewed, it was tastefully done and there was a part that had to be shown at the movie’s end because the movie’s all about that.)
“I was happy naman, every time kasi they review, we have to review it as a whole picture, not just a part. Hindi porket they saw a genital ganito ganyan, they would base their classification on that part alone e. Kailangan ‘yung buong storya yung nirereview niya,” Arenas added.
(I was happy. Every time they review, we have to review it by seeing the whole picture, not just a part. Not because they saw a genital, they would base their classification on the part alone. The whole story has to be reviewed.)
She also assured the board members who classified the film as Rated X cannot review it for the second time.
“We cannot avoid, we have different board members coming from different walks of life, from different backgrounds, iba iba sila e. But the ones that X-ed it the first time cannot naman review it for the second time e,” she said.
(We cannot avoid how different board members come from different walks of life and backgrounds. But the ones that X-ed it the first time cannot review it for the second time.)
“Metamorphosis” is a coming-of-age story of Adam, a 14-year-old intersex who was born with both male and female genitals.
It will premiere Thursday night alongside seven other entries through the Cinema One Originals festival which runs from November 7 to 17, 2019. /muf
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