The PeliKULAYa Festival, an international film festival that highlights the colorful lives, joy, success and struggles of the members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Allies,
Nonbinary/Genderqueer + (LGBTQIA+) community, aims not just to entertain but also to promote equality and non-discrimination.
Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairwoman and chief executive officer Liza Diño, during the Laging Handa public briefing, urged the public to support the film festival which will continue to run until June 26.
“Ang dami pa ngayong struggles na kinakaharap ang ating LGBTQ community. And I think mas maraming dayalogo at discourse ang kailangang mangyari para marating natin, na maatim ng community na ito ang enabling laws para mas lalo silang maproteksiyunan at mabigyan ng equal rights. (The LGBTQ community is now facing a lot of struggle and I think, there should be more dialogues and discourse for the community to be aware that that there are enabling laws to protect and provide them equal rights),” she said.
Diño, who is married to transgender performer Ice Seguerra, said she considers the festival as something “personal” to her and she hopes that the film festival will be a platform that would lead to a point where the government itself will truly promote and protect the rights of the members of the LGBTQ community.
“Napakahalaga dahil iyon nga, the more na pinag-uusapan natin, the more na nano-normalize natin iyong conversation and with our theme ‘Pantay-Pantay, Iba’t Ibang Kulay,’ ibig sabihin, wala dapat tayong tinitingnang kulay pagdating sa pagkilala sa karapatan natin bilang tao. And this year, ang focus natin is on the transgender community… iyong mga trans issues ang ating binibigyang-pansin at sino-showcase (“TOT is important because the more it is talked about, the more that it will be part of the normal conversation and with our theme ‘Pantay-Pantay, Iba’t Ibang Kulay, it means that when we should not look at the colors when we talk of a person’s rights. And this year, our focus natin is on the transgender community… the trans issues are given focus, are showcased),” she added.
The PeliKULAYa include international films and documentaries that came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Denmark, and France, among others, as well as locally produced and Filipino-directed films such as “Boys Don’t Cry” that starred Hilary Swank, the “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” from France that won in the Cannes Festival, and Filipino films’ “Big Night” and “Gameboys: The Movie.”
It also featured short films produced by students from different schools such as the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University and Mapua.
The films are shown at the Cinematheque Center Manila, Gateway Cinemas, and Metropolitan Theater, among others. Featured films are also available online through the FDCP Channel.
Diño expressed hope that more people would finally go out and watch the films in the cinemas and not just the films shown in the festival.
She said that there are a lot of good films, some even locally produced, that have yet to be aired because many people still lack confidence to go to the cinemas because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Nananawagan po ako sa inyong lahat na magtulong-tulong po tayo na payabungin ulit ang ating industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino by supporting our own. Marami pong mga producers natin ang excited na gumawa ulit ng mga pelikulang para sa inyo, kaya sana ay suportahan po natin sila (We urged everyone to help rejuvenate the film industry especially the Philippine film industry by supporting our own. We have any producers who are excited to produce films for you, so we should support them),” she added.
