Macho Dancer

West Coast Premiere of the new 4K restoration

Sunday, April 12, 4:45 p.m. @ 2220 Arts & Archives

Co-presented by A Bunch of Savages

Director: Lino Brocka
Philippines, 1988, 133 min, DCP

Upon losing a reliable American client, 18-year-old gigolo Pol (Allan Paule) leaves the provinces to try his luck in the soapy gay clubs of Metro Manila.

Long out-of-print and beautifully restored, the late Filipino master Lino Brocka delivers one of his most enthralling films with this queer coming-of-age story set in Manila's bustling gay clubs, which demonstrates Brocka's flair for socially conscious melodrama with pulp provocation. The film follows ingenuous teenage sex worker Pol (Allan Paule) as he leaves his small town to go to the city, where he gets hired as an erotic dancer—meeting new friends, lovers, and potential enemies. Featuring extended, seductive dance sequences that pulse with sweat and longing, the film is at once salacious and wonderfully sincere, ever sensitive to the fragile dreams of youth. With his sharp eye for class-based exploitation, Brocka doesn't shy away from tragedy in this bold, highly entertaining depiction of the realities of sex work. -BR

In Tagalog with English subtitles

Prior Screenings: 2026 MoMA To Save and Project

Cast & Crew
Producer: Boy C. De Guia
Written by: Amado Lacuesta & Ricardo "Ricky" Lee
Key Cast: Daniel Fernando, Allan Paule, Jaclyn Jose, Jonard Abanco
Cinematography by: Joe Totanes
Music by: Mon del Rosario
Edited by: Ruben Natividad

Distributor: Kani Releasing