‘Dreamboi,’ an entry to the CineSilip Film Festival, is in danger of not being shown to the public after receiving an X rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
The film’s rating was revealed by its writer-director Rodina Singh, who goes by the pronouns she/her, on X on Thursday, Oct. 16.
‘X-RATED SI DREAMBOI NEXT WEEK NA PREMIERE NAMIN PAANO YUN? Ang sakit (‘Dreamboi’ received the X rating. Its premiere will happen next week. How can we get through this? It hurts),’ she wrote. In a lengthy post on Friday, Oct. 17, the filmmaker appealed to the MTRCB to allow ‘Dreamboi’ to live ‘inside the cinema,’ adding that she’s grateful to the government agency for seeing it as a ‘mature [and] artistically driven’ film.
‘I only hope and pray that the MTRCB allows us to live, too, inside the cinema. I truly appreciate their kind words describing Dreamboi as a ‘mature, artistically driven exploration of sexuality, identity, and desire.’ It means a lot to be seen that way. I only ask that they reconsider their decision and allow us to share this story with an audience, even in a limited screening,’ she said.
Singh reiterated that the film ‘is not pornography,’ and instead talks about the ‘pain and beauty of longing.’ She also stressed that it’s meant to show the realities of trans desire, and how ‘longing shapes the lives of trans women.
”Dreamboi’ is not pornography; it is a story about being seen, about the pain and beauty of longing when the world tells you you’re not allowed to want. Because every time a story like this is silenced, another trans woman disappears,’ she said.
”Dreamboi’ is a film about trans desire-about how fantasy, shame, and longing shape the lives of trans women. It follows Diwa, who turns to audio porn to feel something again, until a secret habit of eavesdropping on a stranger having sex in a basement toilet spirals into obsession. When she discovers the man is also her favorite anonymous audio porn actor, fantasy collides with reality,’ she continued.
Singh said the CineSilip entry was made with a ‘?2 million [budget], a dream, and a community of friends and colleagues who gave their time’ to bring it to life, in hopes of allowing the trans community to ‘live with pleasure.’
‘To those who have been waiting, who believed in Dreamboi from the very start-thank you. We ask for your support now more than ever as we face this challenge. Tonight’s Dreamboi Live performance will serve as a fundraising event to help us pay our remaining post-production dues and to cover the costs of our re-appeal to the MTRCB,’ she said.
‘We will re-submit, re-appeal, and if necessary, create a new cut – because this film deserves to be seen. I only had ?2 million, a dream, and a community of friends and colleagues who gave their time, talent, and hearts to bring Dreamboi to life. We made this film with courage, not excess – with love, not luxury,’ she further explained.
Singh hoped that the public would stand with them in ensuring that the film would be shown to a wider audience.
‘We believe that visibility is not obscenity, that desire is not a sin, and that stories like ours belong in the cinema. We hope you stand with us, help us keep Dreamboi alive, and together, may we all see the light of day,’ she said.
According to the filmmaker, the MTRCB said the ‘prolonged sexually explicit’ scenes make ‘Dreamboi inappropriate’ for public viewing.
‘While it offers important representation and commentary, its prolonged sexually explicit scenes make it inappropriate for public viewing,’ the government agency said, per Singh.
Inquirer Entertainment has reached out to MTRCB for comment, but has yet to respond, as of this writing.
The Singh-helmed film stars Tony Labrusca and EJ Jallorina. It is part of the first-ever CineSilip Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 22 to 28.