Drama Del Rosario's short film of 'coming out' wins PBS prize

A short film of a young Filipino coming out story as a gay teenager in the Philippines continues to make a name of the filmmaker Drama Del Rosario.

In This Family, directed by Filipino American filmmaker Drama Del Rosario, wins Juried Prize in the 2020 PBS Short Film Festival!

“Thank you so much to everyone who watched and voted for my documentary film, In This Family! Your support has been so overwhelming, and I am so moved by all the messages from queer youth, parents of queer children, and teachers of queer students," said Del Rosario in a statement. 

"I hope this documentary moves us closer to helping the LGBTQIA+ community feel safe and loved, especially within Asian families and schools."

Del Rosario found that by centering In This Family on his relationships with his mother and father during a pivotal moment in his life, it gave him the opportunity to take a step back and really see how much they’ve all grown since then. 

CAAM

DRAMA DEL ROSARIO

“When you grow up surrounded by homophobia, it’s so easy to get stuck with a horrible impression of your parents,” he explained in a statement prior to the PBS Short Film Festival. “I’ve realized in my adulthood that my parents had a lot of growing up and changing to do, and making this documentary helped me realize how much work they had put into doing that.”

Del Rosario, now living in Los Angeles, made sure to emphasize that his documentary couldn't have been made if not for executive producer Cinematografo, which is under ABS-CBN International, the Philippines-based media giant that was forced to close down by the government of President Rodrigo Duterte.

"As a lot of people know, ABS-CBN, and Philippine media in general, are not in a good place right now because of Philippine politics. It has been so humbling to have this documentary represent how important it is to keep Philippine media alive and growing! Our voices need to be heard!"