Jake Cuenca (left) and Sean de Guzman in “My Father, Myself”
(We are running this guide to help you plan your holiday movie-viewing activity. The 48th Metro Manila Film Festival, or MMFF, runs from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2023)
Directed by Joel Lamangan; written by Quinn Carrillo; stars Jake Cuenca, Dimples Romana, Sean de Guzman, Tiffany Grey and Allan Paule; produced by 3:16 Media Network and Mentorque ProductionThe story revolves around Robert, who is married to Amanda (Romana) and has a daughter named Mica (Grey). The family adopts Matthew (De Guzman), whose biological father is Robert’s deceased best friend and lover, Domeng (Paule). Conflict ensues as Robert becomes sexually attracted to Matthew while the latter impregnates his stepsister, much to the shame of the family matriarch.
“It’s not a BL (boy’s love) film, but it’s based on the experience of [Lamangan’s] friend,” said Carrillo. “I simply expanded the story. I interviewed people and consulted a friend, who used to be closeted, to be able to effectively describe the nuances of people with this kind of personality.”
Romana said it was interesting to discover that a story like this actually happened. “If only we take a little bit more time to listen and understand, then we will probably pick up lessons here that we never thought we needed in our lives,” she added.
Cuenca, meanwhile, said this film is very different from “Lihis,” which is also a gay-themed movie he did with Lamangan in 2013. “I’m glad I was offered this film at this point in my life, now that I’m more mature as a person and as an actor,” he added.
In terms of closely working with De Guzman, Cuenca said: “I see so much potential in him. He has made a fan out of me with this movie. It’s amazing because Sean has just started acting and was already given difficult projects like this.”