Hawaii’s first boys’ love film comes to PH

For the first time in Hawaii’s history, a boys’ love film is made and it’s also set in the Paradise of the Pacific. Boys’ love, also known as BL, is a subgenre of romantic films where the main plotline is a romance between two male characters.

A special premiere night was held in the Philippines for “My Partner” — even before it gets theatrical release in the origin country. Some of the cast and crew attended the event organized at the Red Carpet Cinema of Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong this June 17. There’s also a screening in San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte, and another one coming to Panglao in Bohol.

Check out these snaps from the premiere night of “My Partner” graced by two of its cast members — Jayron Muñoz and Alaka’i Lastimado — as well as their writer Lance Collins.

“My Partner” stars Jayron Muñoz as Edmar, a high-performing Filipino student, and Kaipo Dudoit as Pili, a native Hawaiian student athlete standout. The movie, directed by Native Hawaiian visual storyteller Keli’i Grace and written by Maui judge and attorney Lance Collins, tells of how Edmar and Kaipo come to understand each other’s backgrounds and cultures amid their clashing peer groups.

Set in rural West Maui, “My Partner” showcases many of today’s current issues. Writer Lance Collins, a Filipino who grew up in Hawai’i, reveals that the state’s former sugar plantations provided a basis for his story. He declares, “The now-gone, historic sugar plantations used racial difference as a way of controlling and managing the labor force over the decades. These plantation thought structures continue to divide us even though the struggles that Hawaiians and Filipinos in Hawai’i face result from the same global economic forces. The story aims to show how these forces can be resisted through solidarity and mutual aid and understanding.”

L to R: Jayron Munoz, Kaipo Dudoit, Bryant de Venecia, Kaleo Pinto, Dan Francis Rodriguez
(Photo courtesy of KSG Films)

“My Partner” was made through the “Pono Process,” which is described as a respectful and righteous filmmaking process. As such, engagement with stakeholders from Kanaka (native Hawaiians, those persons who descended from the aboriginal peoples of Hawai’i), LGBTQIA+, and environmental groups was employed.

Director Keli’i Grace explains, “Because it (movie) deals with several highly-charged issues facing a small tightly-knit community, it was important to make sure that the communities we were representing felt that our depictions accurately reflected their own truths, so that we were telling their stories.”

The specialness of the film and having many Filipinos and Hawaiians of Filipino descent in the cast and crew is the reason for bringing “My Partner” to the Philippines. “We wanted to ensure that they were able to share the movie with their loved ones who do not live in Hawai’i,” says Collins whose family is from Batangas and Masbate.

“My Partner” won the Audience Award at the 2023 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and was selected for the

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in Mumbai, India, and the BJX Bajío International Film Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Also, the movie recently got selected for the Mpumalanga International Film Festival in South Africa, Golden Isles Film Festival in Georgia, USA, and LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival.

For more information and updates, follow My Partner Movie’s Facebook, TikTok and Instagram accounts and visit mypartnermovie.com.