After making her major acting debut last year in the political thriller film Balota, content creator turned actress Sassa Gurl has continued to further her career in the industry. She is also currently part of the cast of two full-length film entries in the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival, Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins and Bar Boys.
Having joined the field as a new artist, Sassa has always been vocal about being grateful to her mentors in the industry, directors Rodina Singh and Kip Oebanda. So when she heard about the initial rating given by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to Singh’s new film Dreamboi, she couldn’t help but make known her dismay at the decision. Dreamboi is one of the seven participating films that are part of the inaugural CineSilip film festival this month.
“Diyos ko, nakakaloka ha ang MTRCB. Samantalang ang mga kasama namin sa festival ay kalibugan din naman pero bakit kami lang ang na-X-rated di ba? I guess medyo mas discrimination na ginawa ang MTRCB sa amin. So ngayon, nilalaban namin ng malala ng todo kasi hindi ma-e-X-rated ang kuwento ng queer people. Hindi dapat i-X-rated ang kuwento ng mga LGBT. Kaya talagang ilalaban namin ito. Dahil sobrang sikip na nga lang ng space na ino-occupy namin sa industry tapos tatanggalan pa kami ng MTRCB. So patuloy pa rin namin nilalaban itong pelikulang ito dahil napaka-importante nito,” she shared during the Colourette Cafe 10th anniversary event held last October 18 in Pasig City.
READ: Sassa Gurl shares the story behind her ball gown at the Preview Ball
On October 20, the MTRCB slapped a second X rating on the film after it was resubmitted to the ratings board for re-classification. Sassa posted her reaction to the decision on her X account that same day, writing, “This is transphobia!! Free the dolls!!.”
Dreamboi is a transbody horror film that follows the story of Diwa, a trans woman who becomes obsessed with audio porn after eavesdropping on a stranger having sex. Her interest becomes magnified once she discovers that the man in the recording is her favorite audio porn actor. The film stars Tony Labrusca, Jenn Rosa, and EJ Jallorina.
The film’s writer and director Rodina Singh also defended her film in a post last October 17 in a lengthy post, she wrote, “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…
As a trans filmmaker, I am drawn to the unspoken intimacies of our lives—what we allow ourselves to feel in private, what we fear showing in public, and how we reclaim our right to desire. This film is not about respectability; it is about confronting the hunger that makes us human. And since the real world wants us dead, then here, in this cinematic universe, the dolls get to live—and we get to live with pleasure.
“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. 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.”
READ: 'Dreamboi' gets green light from MTRCB after getting X-rated twice
On October 21, Tuesday, the MTRCB finally gave the film an R-18 rating, ending the film's struggle to get a public screening in time for the film festival’s screening which is set to run at select Ayala Malls cinemas from October 22 to 28.