Manila Gay Guy

Here’s that smoldering Thai hunk from “Bangkok Love Story” — Tob Chaiwat.

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Tiggah, a Filipino based in California and blogger celebrity in his own right, tells the world about his cute (kakilig!) love story with his Pooh. They have been together for 7 long years — wow di ba! So it’s really interesting to know how they as a couple came to be. Here’s an excerpt of Tiggah’s account:

I can remember when Pooh first came out to me. I was shaking, nervous, and anxious. My palms were sweaty and I couldn’t look him in the eye. I was surprised and didn’t know what to say. How could my straight best friend of 2 years suddenly tell me that he’s gay? Deep inside I knew that I felt that way because I had a crush on him all this time but knew that nothing could ever come of it because he was straight. It’s a strange feeling to finally come to terms and accept the fact that it could never happen, then suddenly, in an instant, a door opens. A door of opportunity seemed to have magically appeared out of nowhere. The question would seem to be – Do I rush right in before that door suddenly closes? Do I enter with caution? Or do I do nothing?

Continue Reading at Tiggah’s blog

Have you seen the movie “Bangkok Love Story”? Here’s one delicious reason why you HAVE TO watch it, even if perhaps like me, you’re not much into tragic love stories: Chaiwat Tongsaeng.
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[Conrado de Quiros on sex outside marriage, and gay love. As usual with de Quiros -- beautiful, beautiful article. Here's an excerpt.]

“The idea of a couple, married or not, having sex in order to procreate is hilarious. It conjures the image of them hard at it (no pun intended for the male partner), enduring the ordeal, determined only like soldiers pinned down in trenches to persevere out of a sense of duty and finally to break through in one great rush. What a perverse and joyless act that is. I doubt any Christian, short of an ascetic, will fill the bill.

“Whatever happened to love? Whatever happened to ecstasy? Whatever happened to two people, straight or gay, bonded by feelings that cannot be expressed by words, needing to express themselves to each other by flinging themselves into each other’s arms and surrendering themselves into a consummation devoutly to be wished? Surely that is part of the magic of life?

“Which brings me to the argument that the Church is not proscribing against gays, it is merely proscribing against gays acting as gays, or that it is not demanding that gays do not get attracted to other gays, it is merely demanding that gays do not act on it. I don’t know about you but I found Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” to be an honest-to-goodness love story, ranking up there with “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” Gays do fall in love too, and what I figure is unnatural is to compel them on the ground that it is perverse or that they cannot procreate to abort it. There is nothing more natural than love in whatever form it takes. Sex is not overrated, procreation is. Demanding that gays feel but not fulfill is not Christian, it is sadistic.”

[Thanks to Mugen for the lead.]

Vincent de Jesus is the lyricist, composer, and musical director of the phenomenal Filipino musical Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze muzical. (And he is also a regular MGG reader! He is the guy in pink at the rightmost of the photo above.) What I like about Vince is that while he is totally talented and multi-awarded he has remained a disciplined artist and worker; he is intelligent and witty, yet with a big, big heart (the main reason I super love Zaturnnah ze Muzical is the meaningfulness and heart of its songs). Inspiring, to say the least. The Troikasters — Gibbs, McVie, and I — thus decided to invite Vince as our guest for this podcast episode. Since Gibbs is the recognized theater expert among the Troikasters, he led the discussion, which turned out to be more of a fun conversation among gay men rather than an interview. Of course hindi nagpaawat si Mcvie, himself being once a stage actor too! So expect me to be just in the sidelines (that’s why I managed to snap some photos) in this podcast.

I invite you to eavesdrop in this chikahan galore that goes from Zaturnnah inside stories to Vince’s love story to being an OFW, etcetera, etcetera!
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The ten finalists in the full length feature category of the 2007 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition have been selected. The finalists are: (more…)

An official selection to the 1998 Toronto Film Festival, this art-house film from celebrated photographer Yeung Fan is a gay love story of the most emotionally involved kind. Stephen Fung is Jet, a male hustler who approaches his job with the demeanor and style of a professional. All that is thrown out the window when he falls for Sam (Daniel Wu), a seemingly straight cop with a beautiful girlfriend (Shu Qi, in a short cameo). Enchanted by Sam’s beauty and quiet grace, he draws closer to him. He doesn’t mean to deceive Sam about his sexuality but he’s powerless to walk away from him. Little does he know that Sam has secrets of his own, which involve Jet’s colleague Ching (Jason Tsang) as well as a teen-idol pop star named K.S. (Terence Yin). You guessed it: they’re all gay.
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The Pink Film Festival, coming to Manila’s Gateway Cineplex 10 on October 13-15 & 20-22, 2006, is featuring Boy Culture by Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out).

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I watched Jupit today at SM Megamall (it’s showing only in SM digital cinemas). I was so looking forward to it, after that last digital movie I watched, the disastrous Hada. Here’s what I can share about the movie.

Jupit is a notable and very entertaining Filipino digital movie. Its entertainment value rivals, and even surpasses, many mainstream commercial Filipino comedy movies.

The story revolves around the life of good-natured Tetay, a gay parlorista (translation: works in a beauty parlor). Tetay’s beauty parlor is completed with 2 other characters, Rica and Jopay, Tetay’s sidekick parloristas. Mona (or Ramon) is the owner of a small eatery on the same street as Tetay’s beauty parlor. Despite his sexual preference, Mona has a wife and young daughter. Tetay, Rica, Jopay, and Mona are the main, all-gay protagonists of Jupit.

The main plot is Tetay’s love story with good looking Glenn. Glenn is the typical Am-boy (half-Filipino, half-American) and a newcomer in Tetay’s neighborhood. Many subplots are tackled in the movie, mostly revolving around the challenges and idiosyncrasies of gay life — more specific to the parlorista-type. Most scenes are funny, thank you to the actors’ perfect comedic timing (perhaps honed by the actors’ stage experience, i.e. in comedy bars), however the subplots do lend some dramatic moments. In one scene, a parlor customer asks Tetay, “Bakit ba ang mga bakla laging masaya, laging nagjo-joke,… umiiyak din ba kayo?” (“Why are gays always happy, and cracking jokes all the time… do you gays cry?”) Scene then cuts to Tetay wiping a tear from his/her right cheek. Owh.

While the movie suffers the limitations of digital technology (colors are not as vibrant, sometimes washed out), the actors’ fabulous acting, witty lines, good music, and the story’s innate entertainment value make Jupit a gay movie worth watching.

Bonus:

Ryan Forbes plays Junix, Tetay’s tricycle driver ex-boyfriend. He was 2nd Runner Up in Kouros 2005 Male Model Search. (Photo courtesy of www.mabuhaybeauties.com)