The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
	Official poster
Directed by	Auraeus Solito
Written by	Michiko Yamamoto
Starring	Nathan Lopez; JR Valentin; Ping Medina
Production; company	UFO Pictures; Cinemalaya
Distributed by	Unitel Pictures (Philippines); Star Cinema (Philippines); Peccadillo Pictures (UK); Unico Entertainment (US); Cathay-Keris Films (Singapore)
Release date	July 13, 2005 (Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival); November 30, 2005 (Philippines (selected cinemas));
Running time	100 min.
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Filipino: Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros) is a 2005 Filipino coming-of-age film about a gay teen who is torn between his love for a young cop and his loyalty to his family. The film competed under 1st Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2005. The film was the official entry of the Philippines to the 79th Academy Awards. It is one of the few digital films released in 2005 to do well at the tills. It also made the rounds of international film festivals.

Synopsis

Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a 12-year-old effeminate gay boy who lives in the slums with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his love for handsome young police officer Victor (JR Valentin), and his family's illegal livelihood. Neo-realist in orientation, the film is a tale of lost innocence and redemption amidst the poverty of Manila's slums.

Maxi behaves like a girl, wearing clips or hairband in his hair and bangles on his wrists and even wearing lipstick. He is teased by neighbors and former school friends. His sexuality is, however, fully accepted by his two brothers and by his father. One night, he is accosted by two men who attempt to molest him, but is saved by the appearance of Victor. Victor does not have a girlfriend and his sexuality is kept ambiguous. However, he does rebuff Maxi's advances. In a key event, Maxi's father, his brother Bogs, and Bogs' friends hatch a plan to teach Victor a lesson for his behaviour towards Maxi. They leave him bloodied and beat up. Just as Victor saved him, it was Maxi who arrived to rescue Victor and stopped the beating. He then went on to clean Victor's wounds and cook breakfast for him. Maxi felt sorry and felt somehow responsible for his injuries. Victor then affectionately stroked Maxi's hair and Maxi stole a kiss.

After Maxi's father is killed by Victor's boss, Maxi resists Victor's attempts to renew their friendship. The closing scene shows Maxi walking past Victor who has parked by the roadside on Maxi's way to school. He ignores Victor as he passes him, hesitates momentarily as he crosses the road, then goes on his way. This last scene is a homage to the final scene of "The Third Man".

Cast

Nathan Lopez as Maximo Oliveros
Soliman Cruz as Paco Oliveros
JR Valentin as Victor Perez / Maxi's friend / Police Officer
Neil Ryan Sese as Boy Oliveros
Ping Medina as Bogs Oliveros

Awards

Year	Film Festival/Award	Award	Category/Recipient
2010	Gawad Urian Awards, Philippines	Gawad Urian Award	Best Filipino Film of the Decade
2007	Independent Spirit Awards, USA	Best Foreign Film (Nominee)
2006	Berlin International Film Festival, Germany	Glass Bear - Special Mention	Best Feature Film
	Berlin International Film Festival, Germany	Teddy Award	Best Feature Film
	Gawad Urian Awards, Philippines	Gawad Urian Award	Best Picture
	Las Palmas Film Festival, Spain	Best Actor	Nathan Lopez
	Las Palmas Film Festival, Spain	Golden Lady Harimaguada	Auraeus Solito
	International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Netherlands	NETPAC Award[1]
2005	Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Philippines	Balanghai Trophy	Best Production Design (Clint Catalan)
	Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Philippines	Special Citation	Nathan Lopez
	Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Philippines	Special Jury Prize	Auraeus Solito
	Montreal World Film Festival 2005, Canada	Golden Zenith Award for Best Picture
	imagineNative Film Festival, Canada	Best Picture
	Asian Festival of 1st Films, Singapore	Best Film

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References

"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros". NETPAC. Retrieved 11 September 2019.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros". NETPAC. Retrieved 11 September 2019.

Teddy Award winners for Best LGBT Feature Film
1980s	Law of Desire (1987) The Last of England (1988) Fun Down There (1989)
1990s	Coming Out (1990) Poison (1991) Together Alone (1992) Wittgenstein (1993) Go Fish (1994) The Last Supper (1995) The Watermelon Woman (1996) All Over Me (1997) Hold You Tight (1998) Show Me Love (1999)
2000s	Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) Walking on Water (2002) A Thousand Clouds of Peace (2003) Wild Side (2004) A Year Without Love (2005) The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (2006) Spider Lilies (2007) The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2008) Raging Sun, Raging Sky (2009)
2010s	The Kids Are All Right (2010) Absent (2011) Keep the Lights On (2012) In the Name of (2013) The Way He Looks (2014) Nasty Baby (2015) Tomcat (2016) A Fantastic Woman (2017) Hard Paint (2018) Brief Story from the Green Planet (2019)
2020s	No Hard Feelings (2020)