10s Across the Borders

Description

10s Across the Borders

If the world won’t accept you and your kind, pave the way for a world that will. Inspired by the Black and Latinx underground Ballroom culture of New York, Sun, Teddy, and Xyza are establishing Ballroom communities across Southeast Asia—safe havens from homophobia, transphobia, racial discrimination, and HIV stigma. In Malaysia, Teddy flees his father’s violence and fights for the right to be himself in a deeply homophobic country. Yet, he still yearns for a father’s love, and Ballroom becomes the place where he seeks a new father figure. Xyza, from the Philippines, dreams of becoming a model but is told it is impossible due to her dark skin; within international Ballroom communities, she finally finds the confidence she lacked. She returns home determined to build a community in the Philippines where everyone can feel beautiful and loved, regardless of skin color, sexuality, or gender identity. In Thailand, Ballroom helps Sun make sense of his complex history as the queer, mixed-race son of a sex worker, and the fractured relationships with his biological and foster families across Thailand and Norway. Buddhism and Ballroom merge in Sun’s creative expression as a performance artist, allowing him to raise his voice in honor of his sex-worker mother, trans women, and others whose voices are rarely heard.

Year
2025

Release date
October 2, 2026

Runtime
99 min.

Director
Chan Sze-Wei

Cast
Aurora Sun Labeija, Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, Teddy Oricci

Genres
Documentary