Artist in Focus: Queer Filmmaker Samantha Lee's 'Reels of Pride'

Honest and straightforward, queer filmmaker Samantha Lee bares her ongoing journey towards advocating for women and queer representation

“What bothers me most is that people seem to think ‘enough’ progress has been made in terms of representation of women and the LGBTQIA+ community in local media,” Lee frankly shares. In a country where hues of the rainbow are slathered almost everywhere in the whole month of June, there’s a notion that Filipinos are accepting of the queer community—a delusion she does not entertain.

Lee directed some of contemporary cinema’s most evocative works. In 2016 she produced Baka Bukas (Maybe Tomorrow), which hovers over the story of a lesbian in love with her girl best friend. She has also directed Billie and Emma (2018), which explores and highlights the inevitable prejudice against cisgender women and lesbians.

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“Growing up in the Philippines, I never saw a representation of myself or the version of the self I wanted to be in local media,” Lee shares. “There were some lesbians, yes, but they were not images I can relate to. Lesbians were always portrayed as hypermasculine and would serve as a trusty sidekick or a punchline to a joke. The community would serve as props for male noontime TV show hosts to make fun of. These characters had no agency, no depth, no other purpose to serve in the narrative other than to provide some cheap laughs.”

Being queer herself, Lee reveals that her sense of self-acceptance came late in life. As a child attending classes in a Catholic institution, she repeatedly succumbed to invalidation, mostly by figures who say that “homosexuality is a sin”.

“I think I knew I was ‘different’ at the tender age of three. Studying in a Catholic school was tough, and I think that was what contributed to my coming out so late in life. Imagine having to sit through classes every day for 14 years, and someone would repeatedly say that ‘homosexuality is a sin’. That does a lot to a person, especially during his or her formative years.”

Queer filmmaker Samantha Lee has made it her life's mission to provide a safe avenue for cisgender women and the LGBTQIA+ community (Photo: @Givemesam/Instagram)

Above Queer filmmaker Samantha Lee has made it her life's mission to provide a safe avenue for cisgender women and the LGBTQIA+ community (Photo: @Givemesam/Instagram)

"The fact that the LGBTQIA+ community lacks representation or is misrepresented in local media nullifies our existence"

- Queer Filmmaker Samantha Lee (Baka Bukas, Billie and Emma) -

The storyteller’s frustrations had driven her to pursue a film degree at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. With nothing but her creative genius and determination, she propelled herself into the realm of motion pictures.

“In a world where media holds the power to shape mass consciousness, the imagery people see onscreen can influence their perception of what is real and acceptable. The fact that the LGBTQIA+ community lacks representation or is misrepresented in local media nullifies our existence,” she discloses.

For Lee, the plight of her community is even made harder by the absence of queer figures who are honoured and respected not for antics television has forced upon them. “If people think we do not exist, then we are unable to fight for our rights effectively. If people think our lives are not morally acceptable to be portrayed onscreen if we only serve as punchlines to jokes, then how can we be perceived as equal?”

The director stresses that she has made it her life’s mission to bring the spotlight closer to marginalised members of society. “I make sure that with every project, women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are part of my cast and production crew. In Billie and Emma for example, I got queer actors to play all the queer roles in the film.”

As of this writing, Lee’s queer narratives continue to thrive and bag prestigious awards in the local and international filmmaking scenes. However, her work is not done, and her latest experiences further prove her point.

“While I am grateful for receiving messages that say I helped young people be more accepting of themselves, I still walk out of pitch meetings bearing the news that certain production companies would only greenlight my film if the subject was not ‘gay’,” she shares. The artist believes that there still needs a lot of work to be done when it comes to the acceptance of LGBTQIA+.

“We need to be able to look beyond the surface of shiny, glossy, ‘Pride’ month posts and look outside of our bubbles to see that there is still so much work to be done towards acceptance and equality in this country.”

The daunting world of film is indeed a place Lee tirelessly conquers to this date. As the interview concludes, she leaves us with a glaring question—What can we do to change things?

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Ritchie Jo Espenilla

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Artist in Focus Films

Tatler Asia

Reels of Pride: Filmmaker Samantha Lee Empowers Women and LGBTQIA+ Community