Raise your hands and wave those rainbow flags because we’re celebrating the colorful time of the year: Pride Month!
We’re halfway through June and Pride Month is already in full swing. Yet, the true spirit of Pride is very much alive.
This year, various groups and initiatives in the Philippines have prepared a long list of activities to honor the history of Pride and fight for the rights of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
From film screening events and education sessions to Pride parades and festivals, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Pride while reflecting on the struggles and accomplishments of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Below is a rundown of the colorful festivities you can join in the remaining days of June!
PeliKULAYa: Film Cinematheque Centres Film Screenings
The simplest way we can do to celebrate Pride Month is to support and stream LGBTQIA+-centered films, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines got your back.
The FDCP is celebrating Pride Month yet again this year through PeliKULAYa: Mga Kuwentong Magpapalaya, a film festival that aims to empower the LGBTQIA+ community and highlight their stories through film screenings.
Much like last year, this year’s PeliKULAYa will feature a lineup of local and international LGBTQIA+-centered films. Some of the films will screen at FDCP Cinematheque Centres located in Manila, Iloilo, Davao, Negros, and Nabunturan on June 24 to 30, 2023, and in Cinema ‘76 and UP Film Institute’s Cine Adarna/Videotheque.
Among the titles viewers can watch are Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together (1997), Lukas Dhont’s Girl (2018), J.E. Tiglao’s Metamorphosis (2019), Dolly Dulu’s The Boy Foretold by the Stars (2020), Samantha Lee’s Billie and Emma (2018), and Rod Singh’s Mamu and a Mother too (2018).
FDCP will also hold free film screenings of some of the award-winning short films, while other titles will be available for streaming on June 30 via JuanFlix.
Quezon City Public Library’s free film screening
To mark the celebration of Pride Month this year, the Quezon City Government through Quezon City Public Library–Gender and Development (QCPL-GAD) department prepared a list of various activities.
One of the activities the city government has prepared is a free film screening that will “showcase the diverse representation of the LGBTQIA+ community.” Among the titles that will be screened every Friday of June are Love, Simon, Everything Everywhere All At Once, All My Life, Bekikang, Perks of Being A Wall Flower, Boys In The Band, Eternals, and Imitation Game.
Aside from the free film screening event, the QCPL-GAD will also host more library activities and share informational resources highlighting the “unique contributions and lived experiences of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Metro Manila Pride’s TAYO ang KULAYaan Pride March and Festival
What better way to celebrate Pride Month and fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community than to take it on the streets and join Pride March, right?
This year’s Pride Month, many organizations across the country have organized Pride Parades to not only celebrate diversity and inclusivity, but also to continue protesting and demonstrating the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
One of the biggest Pride Parades to happen this year is TAYO ang KULAYaan Pride March and Festival with the theme, “TAYO ang KULAYaan! Samot-saring Lakas, Sama-sama sa Landas!.” This event is organized by Metro Manila Pride, a volunteer-based organization that aims to empower the LGBTQIA+ community members in Metro Manila and is set to take place on June 24 at the Circuit Event Grounds in Makati City.
This free event will also feature performances from Filipino queer artists and local drag queens, including Nica Del Rosario, syd hartha, Maxie Andreison, Myx Chanel, Andy Crocker, and Maria Cristina.
Pride PH’s Love Laban
Another colorful event that is also set to take place in Metro Manila is Love, Laban, a pride festival organized by Pride PH in partnership with the Quezon City Government.
This festival will include three major activities: Pride Expo, Pride March, and Pride Night, and will happen on June 24 at the Quezon Memorial Circle.
Famous personalities and drag queens are set to appear in this one-day event, including Sassa Gurl, Nica del Rosario, Precious Paula Nicole, Naia, AC Soriano, and Markki Stroem, among many others.
Kahilwayan 2023
Joining in the celebration of Pride Month is Cagayan De Oro City-based initiative Kahilwayan as it is set to host the Kahilwayan Pride March on June 24.
The Pride March isn’t the only highlight of Kahilwayan because prior to the event, the initiative also prepared an education session about sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) on June 23 in partnership with the Philippine Commission on Women.
LoveYourself Inc’s QUEENDOM
LoveYourself Inc, a Philippine-based leading organization on raising HIV awareness, is about to end Pride Month with a bang!
To culminate the colorful month, LoveYourself Inc. in partnership with 500 Shaw Zentrum Mall will host QUEENDOM, a trans beauty pageant, on June 30 at the 500 Shaw Events Pavillion in Mandaluyong City.
This event is open to all Filipino transgender women aged 18 to 30 years old. Aspiring beauty queens can join the pageant by answering the form here until June 24, Saturday.
While Pride Month is a time when people and the LGBTQIA+ community can come together and celebrate diversity, we must remember that Pride started as a—it still is and will always be—protest.
It is also worth remembering that even though there has been progress made to recognize the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, there is still so much work that needs to be done.
So now, more than ever, let us use our voices to speak up and fight for an inclusive, safe, and accepting world for everyone.
Remember, there’s no pride for some without pride for all.
Happy Pride Month, everyone!
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