I got catfished: a (really long) thread pic.twitter.com/5BQ2G5kcif
— Jzan Tero (@JzanVern) March 30, 2020
In 2020, a few weeks after the lockdown, a twitter thread written by Jzan Tero about how she allegedly got catfished by fashion filmmaker Sam Morales went viral. Well, that thread is now the basis of a movie under the direction of Quark Henares.
Marupok A+, starring EJ Jallorina and Maris Racal, is a fictionalized adaptation about what could have occurred in that long con. In the film, hopeless romantic Janzen Torres (EJ Jallorina) finds another chance at love when she matches with the handsome and seemingly perfect Theo Balmaceda (Royce Cabrera) on a dating app. Unfortunately, on the day of their meet-up, Theo ghosts her, leading Janzen into an intricate web of deceit, lies, and catfishing led by sociopathic mastermind Beanie Landridos (Maris Racal).
Directed by Quark Henares, the film premiered at Slamdance in Utah at the beginning of 2023 and has since then traveled in festivals around the world including Hawaii Film Festival, Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, New York Asian Film Festival and Mostro Endemaris LGBTQ+ Festival in Spain. It was the opening film of last year's Cinemalaya and is finally coming exclusively to Ayala Theaters on July 10.
Marupok A+ Gets an X Rating: AF to A+
Marupok A+ was supposed to have hit the cinemas two weeks before July 10, but the movie got an X rating.
According to director Quark’s tweets, the reason behind the X rating was inherently inane -- they were not allowed to use the acronym “AF” in the original title, "Marupok AF". "What if AF meant 'Always, Forever?'" he jests.
OK we now have an R-18 rating. I think the coast is clear to talk about how we got an X rating first. https://t.co/htEWF0Pj4t
— Quark Henares (@quarkhenares) June 26, 2024
There is also an allusion to a double standard in the Board's review process, not just in Hollywood vs Local Content but also Cishetero vs LBTQIA+ Content. "There is a love scene involving a trans actress in the film with no nudity whatsoever, [and] if we were to compare apples to apples, 'I Am Not Big Bird' (the Enrique Gil sex comedy) had many more non-nude sex scenes, plus BDSM, masturbation, girl getting slapped by pixelated dick, etc. Why couldn't have we been treated the same way?" We heard there is also a masturbation scene featuring Racal, which could have been an additional reason behind the MTRCB's rating.
Since then, the film’s producers decided to change the title to "Marupok A+", but the damage has already been done. Renowned film critic Philbert Dy posted, "The MTRCB is still a wacky organization built on arbitrary decisions that has always ended up crippling Filipino films." While another critic, Ramon de Veyra of the Inquirer, pointed out further proof of the double standard -- "monsters killing people non-stop in a Quiet Place day 1’s MTRCB rating: PG.” Henares ended his rant by pointing out the MTRCB review of his movie included "[they call it] 'a very good movie to be watched by movie goers'. Wish you gave more of them a chance to watch it."
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