‘Marupok AF (Where Is The Lie?)’ is finally making its Philippine premiere.
After initially premiering in the Breakouts Program of Slamdance Film Festival 2023 in the United States, Anima Studios announced on Instagram that the dark comedy about catfishing will finally make its way to the Philippine theater as it will be Cinemalaya 2023’s closing film on the final day of the festival on August 13.
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‘Marupok AF (Where Is The Lie?)’ is inspired by a viral Twitter post that became a national obsession in the Philippines. It follows three different perspectives, the story of Janzen Torres (played by trans actor EJ Jallorina), a hopeless romantic transwoman who goes on a dating app and matches with the seemingly ideal guy, Theo Balmaceda (played by Royce Cabrera). On the day the two are supposed to meet, Janzen is ghosted, which leads her into a web of lies and deceit, carefully orchestrated by the sociopathic mastermind, Beanie Landridos (played by Maris Racal).
The film is directed by award-winning director Quark Henares. It is also produced by ANIMA Studios, whose head and executive producer Bianca Balbuena said that it was important to tell this story because the “LGBTQIA+ community is constantly bullied in the Philippines, and it was inspiring to see this story of everyone coming to protect the original victim unfold in real-time.”
Aside from the Slamdance Festival, the film is also set to conquer the New York Asian Film Festival and will be available for screening on July 22.
Cinemalaya 2023 will be from August 4 to August 13 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
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