For decades, the plight of the LGBTQIA+ community was among the problems hardly addressed by modern society, evident by the rising number of brutal killings, inequality, and whatnot.
This is why when Boys Love (BL) series received a positive feedback in Southeast Asia, the LGBTQIA+ community saw it as a “small” win— a representation and a step towards normalizing same sex relationships. For starters, BL is a genre adapted from online gay romance manga and novels. It has been around since the 70s, and was originally referred to as “yaoi” or “Shouen Ai” which means “works of fiction that focuses on two leading male characters.
In recent times, BL Series became more popular especially in the Philippines and Thailand when television production and talent agent subsidiary GMMTV invested in making quality BL shows such as 2gether, Dark Blue Kiss, Theory of Love, and ‘Cause You're My Boy.
Soon after, the Girls Love (GL) genre, which originated from the Japanese literary genre “Yuri,” also flourished in ways no one would have imagined in the past.
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Female-to-female love series like “Lily Fever,” “Am I The Only One with Butterflies?” and “Condo/Barista/Architect” (a.k.a. “The Dreamer”) popped up on small screens across Asia.
Filipino filmmakers did not miss their chance to produce quality GL series of their own. Last October 23, 2020, the mini series titled ‘Pearl Next Door’ aired on Youtube for the first time.
Finding love in “Pearl Next Door”
Pearl Next Door is a spin-off of the critically acclaimed BL series ‘Gameboys’. The show revolves around the story of Pearl Gatdula (Adrianna So) who explores her bisexuality by dating Karleen Gregorio (Iana Bernandez) and Alex Aguirre (Rachel Coates) amid the COVID-19 quarantine.
In a Facebook announcement, the creative content group ‘The Idea First Company,’ said that Pearl Next Door is heading to Europe as an official entry to the London Monthly International Web and Short Film Festival (LWF).
Pearl in London film fest
LWF is known for recognizing short movies, web series, animation, commercials, and music videos.
Each month, the award-giving body invites award-winning actors, directors, and producers to judge mini series during a private screening. “LWF exists to have your hard work critiqued by professionals working in all aspects of the filmmaking industry.”
“We know how much blood, sweat, and tears it takes to create your web-series and short films. Be it Drama, Comedy or the Weird and Wonderful, LWF was established to celebrate short filmmaking in all its forms,” the group said in a statement.
Whether you’re hooked with watching GL shows, or just an internet bystander binge watching Youtube content, Pearl Next Door is undeniably one of the best internet mini series out there.
