This experimental documentary Because of You: A History of Kilawin Kolektibo tells the story of queer Filipinx who, in the 1990s, against a racist, lesbophobic backdrop, came together for the first time in NYC to create a safe and loving community.  It has been directed, written, and edited by Barbara Malaran & Desireena Almoradie

Through testimonies, we learn about migrants reunited in North America proud to identify as Filipino lesbians. A few of them wrongly thought their roots were Chinese, and felt they did not belong until the social and political group Kilawin Kolektivo came to life after experiencing marginalization in Filipino culture because of their queerness and in mainstream gay culture because of their race, language, and gender,

This film has interesting visuals and mixes poetry with music and songs. Historical footage from the 1994 Pride Parade shows Asian lesbians happy to meet each other and provide mutual support, configuring the group as a sistership, a companionship connected in a strong community, influenced by the Babaylan, the Filipino Lesbians up in Canada.

The documentary is divided into three parts or chapters: Part 1,   I Love You refers to friends and sisters, forever grateful to have each other. There is a segment of inclusion showing the visibility as a group in the march at the Philippines’ 100 Independence Parade, since coming out in your own backyard is important. Voices also  are raised in protests against the portrayal of Filipino mail-order bride in the film The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of The Desert, and the trafficking of Filipinas. Part 2,  I hate you, where the group questions itself and asks is it an organization or a clique or a networking system? Are their members afraid of their own queer bodies? Part 3,  I forgive you provides fresh air while walking into the woods and talking about archival material, Hi8 tapes in shoe boxes, the documentation of a history of happiness and struggles.

There is over a quarter century’s worth of historic documentation that includes footage, photographs, interviews and ephemera in a film with inescapable nostalgia of times passed, that is also a cultural blueprint for LGBTQ+ activism in today´s currente political climate,

Is the future Queer? Exhibitions at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art state so, and Kilawin Kolektibo quilt and videos are part of its collection and of Universal history too. You might also want to visit  the documentary website site at: kilawinfilm

Review by José Mayorgas , Guatemala, Central America lawyer and notary public, visual artist, and editor of El Azar Cultural, lives and works in Guatemala City. Cinema lover, curious about the possibilities life brings and eager to live the experience.