Metamorphosis

Jose Enrique Tiglao / Philipines / 2019 / 98 min

Sunday 10 Oct  16.30, M/S Borgila

Jose Enrique Tiglao’s feature debut boldly carves a new space for an honest intersex coming-of-age story, one that is equal parts intimate nuances and explosive feeling. Fourteen-year-old Adam (Gold Azeron, Unlocked), an outcast who keeps to himself aside from the occasional fist fight at school, has identified as male up until the day he unexpectedly starts menstruating. Thus begins a journey of discovering he is intersex: meetings with doctors, tensions with his Christian parents, and a surprising bond with a new member of his high school, Angel (Iana Bernardez), an older transfer student with a secret of her own.

Navigating the unknown proves to be difficult, angering, and isolating, but Adam’s conviction, boosted by a shared understanding with Angel, helps him experience the journey as one beyond simply acceptance, but of self-discovery and awakening.