Rodina Singh: ‘Some stories refuse to die’
Rodina Singh went into the Cinesilip awards ceremony with no expectations. After all, her film, “Dreamboi,” had narrowly made it to cinemas; anything else would have been a bonus.
But by the evening’s end, Singh and her team walked away with seven awards—including Best Film and Best Director—at the inaugural film festival, which celebrates “bold, mature, and unconventional” themes and storytelling.
All the more meaningful
The fact that they stood onstage holding trophies after initially being denied the necessary exhibition permits made the victories feel all the more meaningful. “My God, magkukwento lang po kami… pero bawal daw kami ipalabas,” says Singh, fighting back tears after being hailed Best Director.
Last Oct. 16, “Dreamboi” received an X rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), effectively barring it from all commercial cinemas. The producers appealed the decision days later, but to no avail. It wasn’t until a third version of the movie was submitted that it was finally rated R-18—just a day before its premiere last Oct. 22.
The MTRCB acknowledged “Dreamboi”—an erotic psychological drama with a trans woman protagonist—for presenting “important representation and commentary,” and praised its “mature, artistically driven exploration of sexuality, identity and desire.” Still, the regulatory board deemed it “inappropriate for public viewing” due to its “prolonged, sexually explicit” scenes.
However, advocates like actress and internet personality Sassa Gurl—who plays a minor role in the film—argued that the censorship was discriminatory and could very well be a form of transphobia.
This sentiment appears to be supported by a provision in the MTRCB’s Implementing Rules and Regulations for films classified as “pornographic material and/or scenes not suited for public exhibition,“ which categorizes “homosexual and lesbian sexual acts” as “perverted sexual acts”—lumped together with “sodomy, necrophilia, and ‘zooerastia.’”
“Reached the finish line with flying colors”
But despite censorship hurdles and lingering doubts, the movie “reached the finish line with flying colors.” Screenings were well-attended—some even sold out. As such, Singh dedicated “Dreamboi’s” success to “everyone who believed in what we could bring to the table.”
Because truth be told, Singh—after countless rejections, feelings of being unseen, and apparent indifference from film festivals—had all but “lost faith” that she would get a chance to make another film after her acclaimed 2018 debut feature, “Mamu: And a Mother Too.”
“I thought this industry wasn’t meant for girls like me,” she admits. “That’s why I’m really, really grateful to Cinesilip for giving us the opportunity to bring this story to life.”
“Dreamboi,” follows Diwa (played by EJ Jallorina), a trans woman who turns to audio pornography to rekindle her desire and “to feel something again.” Life and fantasy inevitably collide when she discovers that the stranger having sex at her workplace, whom she had been secretly eavesdropping on, is the anonymous voice behind her favorite audio porn star, the titular “Dreamboi” (Tony Labrusca).
A promising space for sexual narratives
Aside from Best Film and Best Director, “Dreamboi” also swept the technical awards, taking home Best Cinematography for Malay Javier, Best Editing for Arnex Nicolas, Best Production Design for Chips Day Abando, and Best Sound for Immanuel Verona and John Buquid.
Migs Almendras won Best Supporting Actor, and the film’s popularity with viewers was duly reflected in its Audience Choice Award.
While Cinesilip was initially met with skepticism and dismissed as a mere platform for gratuitous erotica or adult content, it has proven itself as a promising space for narratives that dare to confront or explore sex and sensuality—topics typically “cloaked in shame” or left in the “confines of the bedrooms.”
“It has the potential to be a home for stories that we wouldn’t see otherwise,” Singh says of the festival, whose lineup also include: the romantic drama and 2nd Best Film “Pagdaong” by Pongs Leonardo, the erotic horror and 3rd Best Film “Haplos sa Hangin” (Mikko Baldoza), the coming-of-age “Ang Lihim ni Maria Makinang” (Gian Arre), the erotic drama comedy “Babae sa Butas” (Rhance Añonuevo-Cariño), the sexy comedy “Maria Azama: Da Best P*rn Star,” and the erotic thriller “Salikmata” (BC Amparado).
“Some stories really do refuse to die”
Singh thanked “everyone who showed up in the cinemas.” She noted that the festival seemed to have sparked enough buzz to “bother” other people and make them wonder: Why are there more people watching Cinesilip than the historical biopic “Quezon”?
This remark seems to allude to a Facebook post by Film Development Council of the Philippines chair Jose Javier Reyes, who wrote: “Why are there more people watching the Cinesilip movies than an ambitious epic of note like ‘Quezon’? I shall not sleep well tonight thinking about this.”
“I think a lot of people are missing out on what this festival offers,” Singh says. “We need festivals like this to show that sex isn’t just for procreation—it can be pleasurable.”
Indeed, “some stories really do refuse to die,” Singh stresses—a firm reminder to the “nonbelievers” who insist that their stories don’t deserve to be seen on the big screen. And she can only hope that one day, movies like “Dreamboi” will no longer be watched only through discrete glimpses.
“We’re not a token,” Singh says. “I want to tell everyone na isang sineng malaya, ang mga ganitong kwento ay hindi lang dapat sinisilip—dapat ipinapanalo natin.”
