Die Beautiful

Die Beautiful is a Filipino film directed by Jun Robles Lana and produced by Jun Robles Lana and Ferdinand Lapuz starring Paolo Ballesteros.

Die Beautiful
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Jun Robles Lana
  • Ferdinand Lapuz
  • Perci M. Intalan
Screenplay byRody Vera
Story byJun Robles Lana
Starring
Music byRichard Gonzales
CinematographyCarlo Mendoza
Edited byBenjamin Tolentino
Production
company
  • Octobertrain Films
  • The IdeaFirst Company
Distributed byRegal Entertainment
Release date
  • October 27, 2016 (2016-10-27) (TIFF)
  • December 25, 2016 (2016-12-25) (MMFF)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino
Budget₱15 million
Box office₱98 million[1]
(Official 2016 MMFF run)
₱110 million
(Official Worldwide Run)

The film had its premiere at the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival on October 27, 2016[2] and is an official entry to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival.[3]

Plot

Trisha Echevarria (Paolo Ballesteros), is a transgender woman whose sexuality is greatly opposed by her father (Joel Torre), causing her to leave their house and live with her best friend Barbs (Christian Bables).

At present, Trisha is already dead. She died when she was newly crowned as Binibining Gay Pilipinas. Everyday in her wake, Trisha undergoes makeup transformations into different female celebrities, which she owes to the makeup skills of Barbs. The best friends enjoyed doing makeup transformations together when Trisha was still alive.

Iza Calzado, who crowned Trisha in Binibining Gay Pilipinas, visits the wake at the time when Trisha's makeup transformation is Iza's face. During Trisha's transformation as Miley Cyrus, the funeral parlor owner Flora (Lou Veloso) takes a selfie with her and uploads it online. The photo goes viral, making Trisha's wake an attraction even for people who did not know her, much to Barbs' disapproval. Couturier Eugene Domingo also visits the wake and brings a white gown for Trisha to wear during her transformation as Julia Roberts from the Runaway Bride.

Flashbacks of Trisha's life were shown. Teenage Trisha, who was still Patrick then, study in the same school with Barbs. Patrick has a crush on basketball player Migs (Albie Casiño) and goes out with him one night after Barbs' encouraging. He gets gang-raped by a drunk Migs and his friends, causing an anal bleeding. Patrick's father, with his sister Beth (Gladys Reyes), visits him in the hospital and finds out about what happened, slapping him.

The relationship of Patrick and his father is further strained as Patrick secretly joins gay beauty contests. Eventually, his dad disowns him. As he exits their house, Patrick announces his new identity: Trisha Echeverria.

Barbs and his mother let Trisha stay with them. Trisha adopts an orphaned child named Adora and renames her as Shirley Mae. Not having jobs, Trisha and Barbs continue to join pageants. Trisha usually loses because of failing the question and answer portion. She then gets breast implants, thinking that it will help her win pageants.

Trisha dates a young gay club dancer named Miko. She even pays for Miko's rhinoplasty but their relationship is short-lived as she finds out that Miko is having an affair with a gay beauty parlor owner (Mel Martinez).

Trisha meets Jesse (Luis Alandy) in a bar. Although Jesse is married, they start dating. On their sixth monthsary, Jesse fails to arrive. A month after, Jesse's wife Diana invites Trisha to a hospital where Jesse was confined due to leukemia. Jesse informs Trisha about his condition and confesses that their meeting was not accidental. Jesse was urged by his conscience as he was one of Migs' friends involved in the gang rape. Although he tells Trisha that he grew to love her, Trisha is distraught and leaves.

Trisha joins Binibining Gay Pilipinas and picks a question she has encountered before. She delivers her memorized answer well "..if I'll die and be blessed to live again, I would choose to be nobody, nobody but me." At the backstage, Trisha jokingly tells Barbs that if she wins the pageant, she will be ready to die. She further elaborates the details of her funeral: to have a makeover as different celebrities. Trisha finally wins but shortly dies of cerebral aneurysm.

In the morgue, Trisha's father and sister arrive. Her father orders to have Trisha's breast implants removed. Beth disagrees. Their father ends up having Trisha dressed in a Barong tagalog. Barbs, Paola, and Erica get disappointed at the sight of their friend and asks for Beth's help to sneak out Trisha's corpse and give her the burial she wished for.

In the last day of her wake, Barbs announces that the final makeover of Trisha is what she really is: the Trisha they knew who lived a glamorous life. The movie ends with Trisha's final walk message, showing a younger version of herself.

Other celebrity transformations of Trisha during her wake are Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Guest cast

Production

Die Beautiful is a film funded by Hong Kong – Asia Financing Forum and produced by Regal Entertainment, The IdeaFirst Company, and Octobertrain Films.[5] The film was directed by Jun Robles Lana and produced by Lily Monteverde, Roselle Monteverde and Perci Intalan.[3][6][7]

Release

Die Beautiful was selected in the Main Competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 25, 2016 to November 3, 2016.[8][9]

The film is an official entry to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival, and was screened at the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival.

Reception

At the awarding ceremony at the Tokyo International Film Festival which was held on November 3, 2016 at the Toho Cinemas in Roppongi Hills in Japan, Paolo Ballesteros was named the festival's Best Actor. The film also won the Audience Choice Award.[10][11]

The jury was headed by French director Jean-Jacques Beineix, and included Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung, U.S. producer Nicole Rocklin, Italian actor Valerio Mastandrea and Japanese director Hideyuki Hirayama.

A total of 16 films, with Die Beautiful being the only one from the Philippines, were in competition.

Sequel

It was announced that a sequel was in production to be a 12-part spin-off television series to be aired on Cignal Play entitled Born Beautiful with Paolo Ballesteros reprising his role and Martin del Rosario picking up the role of Barbs which was originally portrayed by Christian Bables.[12][13] Instead, the producers decided to make it into a full-length film with majority of the story focusing on Barbs.[14]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2016 29th Tokyo International Film Festival[15] Audience Choice Award Die Beautiful Won
Best Actor Paolo Ballesteros Won
21st International Film Festival of Kerala[16] Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance Won
42nd Metro Manila Film Festival[17] Best PictureDie BeautifulNominated
Best DirectorJun LanaNominated
Best ActorPaolo BallesterosWon
Best Supporting ActorChristian BablesWon
Best Supporting ActressGladys ReyesNominated
Best Ensemble CastDie BeautifulNominated
Best ScreenplayRody VeraNominated
Best Production DesignAngel DiestaNominated
Best FloatDie BeautifulWon
MMFF My Most Favorite Film (Audience Choice Award)Won
2017Film Development Council of the Philippines[18]Film Ambassadors AwardeePaolo Ballesteros & Jun LanaWon
19th Gawad Pasado Awards[19]Pinakapasadong Pelikula sa Kamalayang Pagkakapantay-pantay ng mga KasarianDie BeautifulWon
Natatanging Gawad Pasado para sa Taong 2016Paolo BallesterosWon
15th Gawad Tanglaw Awards[20]Best ActorWon
Guild of Educators, Mentors and Students[21]Won
Gawad Bedista Awards 2017[22]Actor of the Year (Film)Won
48th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards[23]Global Achievement by a Filipino Artist (Tokyo Best Actor)Won
1st Eddys Awards (Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards for Movies)[24] Best Actor Won
Best Editing Die Beautiful Won
Best Production Design Won
40th Gawad Urian Awards

[25]

Best Actor Paolo Ballesteros Won
Best Supporting Actor Christian Bables Won
Best Production Design Angel Diesta Nominated
Best Editing Benjamin Gonzales Tolentino Nominated
33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies Movie of the Year Die Beautiful Won
Movie Director of the Year Jun Lana Won
Movie Actor of the Year Paolo Ballesteros Nominated
Movie Supporting Actor of the Year Christian Bables Nominated
New Movie Actor of the Year Nominated
Movie Screenwriter of the Year Rody Vera Won
Movie Cinematographer of the Year Carlo Mendoza Won
Movie Production Designer of the Year Angel Diesta Nominated
Movie Editor of the Year Benjamin Tolentino Won
Movie Musical Scorer of the Year Richard Gonzales Nominated
Movie Sound Engineer of the Year Armand De Guzman and Lamberto Casas, Jr. Nominated
2018 5th Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards[26] Best Film Die Beautiful Won
Best Actor Paolo Ballesteros Won

References

  1. "MMFF 2016 Total Gross: 'Vince & Kath & James at PHP 125 million; 'Die Beautiful' at PHP 98 million". Movie Journals Ph. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  2. "Paolo Ballesteros' Angelina Jolie Transformation In Tokyo Filmfest Red Carpet". International Business Times PH. 2016-10-27. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  3. Calderon, Ricky (8 August 2016). "Paolo Ballesteros stars in 2 upcoming films". philstar.com. The Philippine Star. The Freeman. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  4. Acar, Aedrianne (12 July 2016). "IN PHOTOS: Paolo Ballesteros as a transwoman in 'Die Beautiful'". GMA Network Portal. GMA Network. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  5. Dabu, Bianca Rose (2 March 2015). "Paolo Ballesteros to star as transgender woman in indie film". GMA News Online. GMA Network, Inc. GMA News. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  6. "LOOK: Paolo Ballesteros bares 'boobs' for upcoming film". inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  7. Gabinete, Jojo. "Paolo Ballesteros bares prosthetic boobs for Die Beautiful". pep.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  8. "PH film 'Die Beautiful' to compete in Tokyo Film Festival". Rappler. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  9. Sallan, Edwin P. "Jun Lana's 'Die Beautiful' premieres at Tokyo International Film Festival". InterAksyon.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  10. News, ABS-CBN. "Paolo Ballesteros wins Best Actor at Tokyo film fest". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  11. "Paolo Ballesteros wins Best Actor at Tokyo film fest, accepts award as 'Julia Roberts'". Rappler. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  12. "'Born Beautiful' on CignalTV". Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  13. "Martin del Rosario tells Christian Bables: "Itutuloy ko lang ang laban mo."". Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  14. Aldana, Ida (27 September 2018). "The Sequel to Die Beautiful Is Almost Here". spot.ph. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  15. "Paolo Ballesteros wins Best Actor in Tokyo International Film Festival". gmanetwork.com. GMA News Online. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  16. "Paolo Ballesteros wins another int'l award for 'Die Beautiful'". inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  17. "MMFF 2016 winners revealed: Paolo Ballesteros, Irma Adlawan named Best Actor and Best Actress". pep.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  18. "FDCP honors film ambassadors". bworldonline.com. BusinessWorld. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  19. "Your Guide To 19th Gawad Pasado". www.psr.ph. PSR. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  20. "Charo Santos, Jaclyn Jose,Paolo Ballesteros at Allen Dizon, big winners at the 15thGawad Tanglaw". push.abs-cbn.com. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  21. "Paolo nakatanggap ng 4 bagong award para sa 'Die Beautiful'". bandera.inquirer.net. Bandera. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  22. "Paolo recently won the Actor of the Year award in the Gawad Bedista". gmanetwork.com. GMA Network. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  23. Aquino, Anne Charmaine (23 April 2017). "Kapuso program and stars, wagi sa 48th Box Office Entertainment Awards". GMA Network, Inc. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  24. Policarpio, Allan (12 July 2017). "Vilma, Paolo top entertainment editors' choices". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  25. Rappler (20 July 2017). "FULL LIST: Winners, Gawad Urian Awards 2017". Rappler. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  26. GMA News Online (12 March 2018). "Mga Kapuso, wagi sa 5th Holy Angel University Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards". GMA News. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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