“Films are a way to form our own reality,” Filipino director JT Trinidad shared. For too long, the LGBTQIA+ community has been pushed to the periphery with its stories silenced or reduced to tragic archetypes. But queer filmmakers refuse to be confined, wielding cinema as a weapon of truth and liberation.
This urgency for representation was at the heart of “Five Films for Freedom,” an annual global LGBTQIA+ film campaign by the British Council and BFI (British Film Institute). On March 19, 2025, the initiative reached Lawak Sinehan at UP Cebu that gathered students and the general public for an opportunity to experience a curated lineup of short films from Indonesia, New Zealand, the United States, China and the United Kingdom. Beyond the on-site screenings, audiences worldwide can access the films for free via the British Council’s YouTube channel from March 19 to 30.
For Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, Head of Arts at the British Council in the Philippines, the event underscores an ongoing fight. “The movement for queer liberation will always be ongoing for as long as there is suppression,” he shared. “This is one of the many programs the British Council is pushing because we recognize film as an important platform for diverse narratives. This will continue for a long time.”
Online celebration of global stories
This year’s lineup features a compelling selection of films: “Dragfox” by Lisa Ott, “If I Make it to the Morning” by Andre Shen, “Nggak!!!” by Oktania Hamdani and Winner Wijaya, “We’ll Go Down in History” by Cameron Richards and Charlie Tidmas, and “Wait, Wait, Now!” by Ramon Te Wake. These works explore themes of identity, self-acceptance and the realities of queer life in different cultural contexts.
For Dominic Yasay, a communication professor at UP Cebu, one film stood out, “Dragfox,” which follows two young drag performers. Yasay’s emotional response to the film reflected the deep personal connection many LGBTQIA+ individuals find in these stories.
“I think I’m speaking for every queer kid when I say it’s incredibly difficult to navigate the world,” Yasay shared. “When I was around five or six, my parents would castigate me whenever I acted feminine or played with dolls. Watching ‘Dragfox’ felt like a warm hug. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone in that experience. The pain was relieved. The validation was there. Only gay kids can truly understand the humiliation of just wanting to express yourself but being shamed for it.”
Filmmaker JT echoed this sentiment, recalling the scarcity of queer representation growing up.
“I don’t remember seeing myself on screen,” JT admitted. “Seeing these films now feels like a warm embrace that I never received. And if these stories don’t seem ‘realistic’ to some people, they at least show us how we should respond when someone comes out to us.”
From rejection to recognition
A summa cum laude graduate of UP Diliman, JT also held a special screening of “The River That Never Ends,” a film that has gained both local and international acclaim. It won Best Southeast Asian Short Film at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the 2024 Berlin New Gen Film Festival. Most recently, it made its Dutch debut at CinemAsia, which ran from March 6 to 11.
But the film’s journey was far from easy.
“I was still a student when we made that — I was in my third year, trying to pitch it to producers, but no one believed in us,” JT recalled. “We were rejected because I didn’t have a body of work that had traveled internationally. Producers usually want that assurance before investing.”
Despite the setbacks, Cebuano director Keith Deligero saw potential in the project. With his support, JT’s film was submitted to the 2022 QCinema International Film Festival — marking the beginning of its award-winning journey.
For queer filmmakers, this is what visibility means, not just telling stories, but finding people who believe in them, who help push those stories forward. In line with this, Pamintuan shared that the British Council offers grants to help filmmakers.
“We have culture grants, which we open for applications every year. This gives UK-based and Philippine-based artists the opportunity to collaborate on artistic projects,” he explained. He encouraged students to watch for updates on their social media, particularly Instagram, as applications typically open in April or May. “Another opportunity is our international collaboration grants, which provide up to £75,000 for partnerships between organizations in the UK and the Philippines.”
Cinema as a call to action
Film has always been a powerful force in shaping perceptions and pushing societies forward. As long as there are voices left unheard, as long as there are stories untold, queer cinema will continue to be a force that educates, mobilizes and transforms.
“Five Films for Freedom” is a reminder that as these voices continue to rise, the impact of queer cinema only grows stronger.