February is the month of love; it's filled with romantic stories, presents, slow dances, candles, and red roses. It’s one of the best times to celebrate with our loved ones, but it’s not usually the guy knocking on the door at 7:00 PM to escort his date to a dinner reservation, or the girl surprising her boyfriend with balloons and cakes. This season, it also comes with celebrations of various kinds of love, including the LGBTQ community who are frequently misunderstood and criticized by society.
The best way to celebrate Valentine's Day is to add a movie marathon to a planned date. Here are some of the top films and series you can watch at home portraying different angles of queer relationships.
Billie & Emma
Billie & Emma is a coming-of-age movie directed and penned by Samantha Lee, the same director of the well-loved Filipino sapphic film Rookie. Set in the mid 90s, it centers around two teenage girls attending a Catholic school who fall in love as they try to figure out their future. With Lee’s lighthearted yet compelling storytelling, Billie & Emma proves to be more than just a girl-meets-girl story, dealing with other themes such as self-discovery, teenage pregnancy, and personal agency—the kind of narrative that the LGBTQ youth needs to see while they continue to make sense of themselves.
Die Beautiful
In a society that still has a long way to go in accepting queer people, Jun Robles Lana’s Die Beautiful takes a brave step in depicting the reality of the transgender community. It revolves around the sudden death of trans beauty queen Trisha Echevarria, whose final wish is to be dressed as different celebrities in her wake. Her colorful yet tragic life was told through each night before her burial, showing how she lived with success in beauty pageants as well as her heartbreaks in search for genuine love, peace, and acceptance.
Saan Ako Pinaglihi?
Directed by student filmmaker Rafaela Abucejo, Saan Ako Pinaglihi? follows how Chinky, a curious young girl who was raised by two lesbian mothers, learns how she was conceived. The short film explored queer love in a non-traditional Filipino family through the lens of an eight-year-old, something you don’t easily find in your typical LGBTQ stories in the media. Sprinkled with just the right amount of warmth, innocence, and humor, Saan Ako Pinaglihi? captures the heart of its audiences while bringing a unique perspective on Filipino queer cinema.
Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita
If you’re looking for something about girlhood, puppy crush, and sexual awakening, then Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita is the perfect film for you. It is about 12-year-old tomboy Anita who unexpectedly gets a hopeless crush on the new woman in town. Through Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s vision and writing, the film leans onto the sexual confusion of a young girl who is still in the process of discovering her identity and the reality of the world around her. Charming, nostalgic, and heartwarming, Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita defines love in all its forms, despite all odds.
Iti Mapukpukaw
Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing) is an adult animated movie directed and co-written by Carl Joseph Papa. Combining science fiction and psychological drama, the film revolves on Eric, a mute animator who discovers his uncle’s dead body, triggering a familiar alien that has been haunting him for years as a potential romance blossoms with the boy he likes. A game-changer in the landscape of Filipino cinema, Iti Mapukpukaw perfectly portrays how trauma and grief consumes a person, and how you can defeat it with the love, support, and understanding of the people who love you.
Love, Simon
Based on the best-selling novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Love, Simon is a romantic-comedy coming-of-age film by Greg Berlanti that portrays the real struggles of self-discovery in identity as a teenage kid. It centers around Simon's relationship with his sexuality and his battle to keep it hidden within the four corners of his room and feel comfortable with a guy that he met online. The thrilling ride of emotions while falling in love shows as this film portrays an LGBTQ relationship and how it unfolds through a high school student coming out in a community.
My First Summer
This coming-of-age film written and directed by Katie Found features two girls—Grace and Claudia finding warmth and connection with each other. It develops a romantic concept of a queer couple in the middle of resolving issues such as isolation, grief, trauma, and healing. The chemistry of two young women shows a colorful blast of sweet and unconditional love in a scary world. It is among the films that show slow-burn scenes as it emphasizes the physical connection and exploration of youthful love—following the development of the characters' emotions naturally.
The Secret of Us
In a society full of heteronormative social norms—Thai girls love (GL) romance-drama based on the web novel Jai Son Rak by Meenam depicts the battle with societal stigma and the personal growth of queer couples. It follows the story of Doctor Fahlada, haunted by the scars of her ex-partner Earn, opening the burning fire of their past. This drama portrays queer love and its reality, which is that it is still not completely recognized by society. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that they should be treated with the same respect as heterosexual relationships.
23.5
Inspired by the novel When the Earth is Spinning Around by Blue, another type of girls love romantic-comedy drama shows a heartfelt glimpse of the relationship of two girls in the same class. The pure and genuine portrayal of queer couples is captured in this drama. It covers the reality of love, personal growth, and struggles through the lens of teenage girls in society when societal expectations and family pressures come in the way when it comes to identity. This light and cute high school drama brings the theme of self-acceptance with an issue surrounding internalized homophobia in society.
In a culture with heteronormative standards, queer relationships continue to face discrimination and constantly seek recognition. But by acknowledging queer visibility in mainstream media, we can foster a safe space for audiences who are part of the community and an even more inclusive media landscape.
So, in this season of love, let us embrace and recognize all shapes and forms of love, both in media and in real life.
Article: Regina De Villa & Ayessa Clamor
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