Ever get a lap dance from a macho dancer in a movie theater? On Thursday, August 21, the queer road movie Some Nights I Feel Like Walking premiered at Isetann Cinerama Recto, where viewers were treated to an immersive, cheeky program. The premiere comes after the film first screened at RainbowQC Pride Film Festival in June.
Even before the premiere, the playful marketing for Some Nights already turned heads. On Wednesday, the film’s characters set out on Grindr, the LGBTQ dating and chat app, to pick out lucky winners to see the film on premiere night. “Find their profiles. Usap. Flirt. Roleplay. Roleplay?!” the mechanics said. “Make them say ‘G ka sa movie fun?’”
Movie fun, they promised, and movie fun they delivered.
On premiere night, after getting through the registration booth, viewers could line up at the karaokeKaraokeA sing-along pastime in which people perform popular songs over instrumental tracks, known in the Philippines as videoke. A staple of parties, fiestas, and family gatherings, it is a sharedGo to Karaoke Glossary machine, take their pictures at the photo wall, get a massage, and avail themselves of goodie bags with condoms, lube, contraceptives, and a pregnancy test kit.
Once most of the guests made it inside the movie theater, comedian and host Inah Evans introduced the audience to director Petersen Vargas, producerProducerThe person who shapes how a record sounds, from arranging and recording to guiding performances and making creative choices in the studio. A great producer can bring out the bestGo to Producer Glossary Jade Castro, and the main cast, Miguel Odron, Jomari Angeles, Argel Saycon, Tommy Alejandrino, and Gold Aceron.
In his speech, Vargas said it was important that the premiere was held at Isetann Cinerama Recto, as other queer indieIndieShort for independent, describing music, film, or art made outside the major-label or big-studio system. Indie work often gives creators more freedom and a distinct voice, and in the PhilippinesGo to Indie Glossary films had also been screened there.
Then, a group of macho dancers took to the stage, dancing to a remixRemixA new version of an existing song in which the producer changes its structure, tempo, or sound, sometimes adding new vocals. Remixes can bring a track to new audiences andGo to Remix Glossary of “Dadalhin” by Regine Velasquez, before they took their shirts off and gave lap dances to several audience members. Inah jokingly said that anyone scandalized by all the body-rolling and grinding should step out.
Of course, everyone stayed. It became clear then, watching the film — if it wasn’t already clear before that — that everything from the Grindr promo to the soundtrack and even the premiere venue sought to transport the audience into the dank, feverish world of Some Nights I Feel Like Walking. I’ve never experienced a movie premiere like that, and it will never be replicated again.
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