A gaggle of friends and observers ponder the fate of a relationship as they watch it collapse in this independent drama from the Philippines. Cris is a documentary filmmaker with a well-regarded body of work and a large community of friends and admirers. Cris is also gay, and possesses a voracious sexual appetite, claiming to have had sex with over 4,000 men during his years of frequent cruising. But Cris has fallen for Eric, and has sworn off meaningless sex for the pleasures of monogamy. However, while Cris wants Eric and Eric alone, Eric himself isn't so sure he feels exactly the same way and is both puzzled and annoyed with Cris' rather ironic jealousy. The tensions between the two take a heavy toll on Cris, leading to a suicide attempt, and as his friends watch from a distance, any number of them speculate on what's going on between Cris and Eric.
Writing
Ruthless, theatrical dialogue—friends dissect like they're at a wake.
Acting
Andoy Ranay's raw, unglamorous unraveling.
Direction
Lo-fi digital intimacy; zero budget, maximum discomfort.
Director
Crisaldo Pablo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot on digital video with non-professional actors, this is quintessential 2000s Philippine indie cinema—part of the 'digital wave' that democratized filmmaking beyond studio systems.
Director Crisaldo Pablo allegedly based the 4,000-lovers claim on his own cruising history, blurring autobiography into fiction in ways that make the suicide attempt sequence feel almost invasive to watch.
PH
