Joey Reyes. Image: HANNAH MALLORCA/INQUIRER.net
Filmmaker Joey Reyes, who also serves as the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) technical adviser, stressed that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves a rightful platform to share their stories in mainstream media, instead of being presented as a “village idiot or clown.”
Speaking to the press at the Pelikulaya 2023 launch earlier this month, Reyes pointed out that the community is “tolerated,” but not accepted, in the Philippines. “This is merely a personal opinion—in our country, LGBTQIA+ is tolerated. There is a big difference between tolerance and acceptance. We have to learn to eventually move to acceptance,” he said.
Pelikulaya 2023, which ran from June 23 to 30 at Cinema ‘76, UP Film Institute’s Cine Adarna, and Cinematheque Centre branches in the country, is a showcase of films revolving around the LGBTQIA+ community, including “Manila by Night,” “Metamorphosis,” “The Boy Foretold by the Stars,” “Billie and Emma” and “Mamu, and a Mother Too,” among many others.
“[LGBTQIA+ representation] is a matter of acceptance, not tolerance. We need to understand the LGBTQIA+ community as human beings who go into the same emotional process as normal people. I hope there comes a time where we can show one or two original films that are dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ theme,” he said.
Among the recent films revolving around the queer narrative in local media are Jun Robles Lana’s “About Us But Not About Us,” “Die Beautiful” and Auraeus Solito’s “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” just to name a few, but Reyes said it is the responsibility of media to show their raw emotions and what lies beneath their gender.
“Hindi naman sa nakikisakay tayo sa world trends and that we’re obsessed with the proper use of pronouns. Pero kasi, the LGBTQIA+ character has to be seen as a human being capable of emotion and utter seriousness,” he said.
“For example, If it’s a Roderick Paulate character, we would all be in stitches when we see him onscreen. However, the moment the character becomes serious, like when he starts to show sadness or pain, we would get irritated. We have to understand these aspects of their lives, rather than merely look at them for amusement,” he continued.
Reyes also revealed during an ambush interview with reporters that Pelikulaya 2023 will be turned into an annual event, as he explained that it is meant to celebrate Pride Month as a way of understanding the LGBTQIA+ community through film. /ra