‘The Boy Foretold by the Stars’ sends a powerful message that we all love the same way

With a patriarchal, conservative country dominated by Christians such as ours, LGBTQ-friendly themed movies are far and few between. That’s not until the fame of Vice Ganda and the craze for the Boy Love (BL) series. It’s safe to say that we are heading towards an era that LGBTQIA’s are not only tolerated but are slowly being accepted in the mainstream media. One of the proofs for that is the inclusion of the BL movie, The Boy Foretold by the Stars to this year’s MMFF.

Written by Dolly Dulu and produced by famed actress Jodi Sta. Maria, the film is starred by Adrian Lindayag and Keann Johnson. The movie revolves around two senior high school students who will cross paths after a fortune teller (Iyah Mina) predicted that they will meet as each other’s destiny in a retreat. This is a coming of age story and a romantic comedy.

This film can be very nostalgic as it’s a recollection of the first moments of falling in love. It surely is tear-jerking as it also covers the hardships of self-acceptance. We will follow if the prophecy that they’re destined for each other will come true.

Challenges of the characters

Having to play a complicated character is challenging but not for Keann.

“Getting myself immersed in my character is not much of a challenge. Luke’s character matches mine. He’s an athletic, boy next door guy who’s a bit introverted. We made sure that we get to know each other well to have chemistry. We always hang out, eat together, to the extent that all the scenes we’ve done together will come out naturally. The chemistry that you will see on the 25th comes in a natural point of view.”

As for Adrian, he said that he’s nervous at first as it’s different to play a role with a love team, The most challenging for him though is trying to get back to how he looked during high school.

“We need to lose weight for this role. It’s also my first time to experience being in a love team. Having a partner is kind of different as you have to be in sync.”

What sets it apart from other BL themed movies/series?

“What makes this special is our casting as this is the first time that we’ve cast an effeminate gay character portraying a lead role in the movie. It’s the only story among all BL series that focuses on high school life as well,” Director Dolly said.

“The core message is that love is love, it is for everyone. I want to inspire the young members of the LGBTQIA not to be afraid to fall in love whether it be with the same sex or not,” he added.

We’ve noticed that straight-acting gays lead all Pinoy BL series, but this is an exemption. It’s led by a flamboyant, openly gay guy who’s not afraid of his own skin. With all the hype with these types of stories, this seems to be more inclusive as we don’t get to see many effeminate characters.

“It’s very validating and sends a powerful message that you don’t have to be straight acting to have a love interest,”Adrian said.

A Milestone for the LGBTQIA Community

Having a holiday-themed film that explores gender-friendly stories is such a milestone. It focuses on the political language around sameness — that “they” are just like “us”. This sends a powerful message that we all love the same way. For such a story to be told on such a platform like this without any judgment is a huge step towards acceptance and progress.

Not only that it promotes LGBTQ rights, but it also breaks the stigma that we should only recognize heterosexual relationships. Falling in love with the same sex should not be frowned upon. We hope that a day will come that same-sex relationships are fully accepted and respected. Just like what Director Dulu said, love is love. It doesn’t discriminate and therefore we also shouldn’t.

You can watch the 2020 MMFF films via Upstream and the app’s ticketing partner GMovies. Check this out to see the full trailer of this film.