SCREENING: 10s ACROSS THE BORDERS (AS PART OF THE CHOREOSCOPE FILM FESTIVAL)

If the world does not accept you or your community, create a world that does. Inspired by New York's Afro-Latin underground ballroom culture, Aurora Sun Labeija, Teddy Oricci, and Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi build ballroom communities across Southeast Asia as safe havens from homophobia, transphobia, colourism, and HIV stigma.

In Malaysia, Teddy escapes his father's violence and fights for his right to be himself in a deeply homophobic country. At the same time, he still longs for a father's love and finds in Ballroom a place where he can seek a new father figure.

In the Philippines, Xyza dreams of becoming a model but is told it is impossible because of her dark skin. Through the international Ballroom community, she finally gains confidence in herself. She returns home determined to build a ballroom community across the Philippines where everyone can feel beautiful and loved, regardless of their skin colour, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

In Thailand, Ballroom helps Sun make sense of her complex story as a queer person of mixed heritage, the daughter of a sex worker, and the fractures between her biological family and her foster family in Thailand and Norway. Buddhism and Ballroom merge in Sun's creative language as a performance artist. Through her work, she raises her voice to honour the life of her mother, a sex worker, as well as trans women and other people whose voices are rarely heard.

Director: Chan Sze-Wei
Concept: Chan Sze-Wei & Aurora Sun Labeija
Choreography: Aurora Sun Labeija, Teddy Oricci, Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi & cast
Philippines, Singapore, Germany, Indonesia, 2025
Running time: 103 minutes