Jaehwa Bernardo

A scene from 'Dreamboi.' Screenshot from video on Frameline's YouTube channel

Article (news)

'Dreamboi' to get int'l premiere at LGBTQ+ film festival in US

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778669991014DREAMBOI.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="A scene from &#x27;Dreamboi.&#x27; Screenshot from video on Frameline&#x27;s YouTube channel"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &#x27;Dreamboi.&#x27; <em>Screenshot from video on Frameline&#x27;s YouTube channel</em></span></span></span></div><p>&quot;Dreamboi,&quot; a Filipino film tackling trans desire, is getting an international release at a film festival in the United States that celebrates LGBTQ-themed features.</p><p>The film led by EJ Jallorina, Tony Labrusca and Jenn Rosa will be screened at the 50th edition of the Frameline Film Festival, director Rodina Singh said Wednesday in a Facebook post.</p><p>&quot;Honestly… nakakaiyak sabihin out loud,&quot; Singh said in her post.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10238145003382117%26set%3Da.1049615358673%26type%3D3&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="773" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>In her post, Singh recalled growing up &quot;seeing trans people onscreen mostly as jokes, warnings, side characters, or tragedies.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So much of my work has been trying to imagine us differently — as people capable of desire, fantasy, sexuality, softness, grief, beauty, absurdity, humor, and love,&quot; said the director, also known for the 2018 film &quot;Mamu: And a Mother Too.&quot;</p><p>&quot;But oftentimes, stories like ours were treated as &#x27;too much&#x27; — too political, too sexual, too emotional, or too difficult to understand,&quot;Singh said.</p><p>&quot;And now &#x27;Dreamboi&#x27; gets to bring that trans imagination to Frameline’s historic 50th year. So this moment means a lot to me,&quot; she added.</p><p>Singh also recalled how the film &quot;almost disappeared many times.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It survived censorship. It survived fear. It survived doubt. And now it gets to travel because maybe our stories were never too much. Maybe the world just wasn’t ready to see them yet,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Dreamboi&quot; nearly was not screened at the local CineSilip Film Festival, where it premiered in 2025, after receiving two X ratings from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board before it was finally classified as R-18.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/10/21/-dreamboi-director-insists-film-is-not-porn-after-getting-second-x-rating-0928"><strong>READ: &#x27;Dreamboi&#x27; gets green light from MTRCB<br/></strong></a></div><p>Singh thanked &quot;everyone who stayed with me and this film through all its strange and difficult stages of becoming.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This is for you and for every Filipino queer and trans artist who was made to feel &#x27;too much,&#x27; &#x27;too loud,&#x27; &#x27;too political,&#x27; &#x27;too sexual,&#x27; or &#x27;too strange&#x27; to ever belong in cinema,&quot; she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/10/25/-dreamboi-review-a-messy-moving-search-for-comfort-and-visibility-1443"><strong>‘Dreamboi’ review: A messy, moving search for comfort and visibility<br/></strong></a></div><p>&quot;Dreamboi&quot; tells the story of a transwoman who becomes obsessed with the voice of an underground audio porn star.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tLF_Q32MbXQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>'Dreamboi,' a Filipino film tackling trans desire, is getting an international release at a film festival in the United States that celebrates LGBTQ-themed features.</p>

'Dreamboi,' a Filipino film tackling trans desire, is getting an international release at a film festival in the United States that celebrates LGBTQ-themed features.

'Dreamboi' gets international premiere at LGBTQ+ film festival in US

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'Dreamboi' gets international premiere at LGBTQ+ film festival in US

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 13, 2026 07:11 PM PHT

|

Updated May 13, 2026 07:46 PM PHT

Read More:

Dreamboi

film

Philippine cinema

Rodina Singh

EJ Jallorina

Tony Labrusca

Frameline Film Festival

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