Cebuano screenwriter Fatrick Tabada directs first solo full-length film 'Flower Girl

Cebuano screenwriter Fatrick Tabada always features in his scripts strong women placed in extraordinary situations.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

In “Patay Na si Hesus,” a Bisaya-speaking Jaclyn Jose tries to keep her family together on a road trip from Cebu to Dumaguete to attend the wake of her ex-husband. In “Si Chedeng at si Apple,” Gloria Diaz and Elizabeth Oropesa play best friends on a complicated journey across the country: Oropesa carries the severed head of her abusive husband inside her Louis Vuitton bag, while Diaz searches for her long-lost lover, a woman, after coming out as a lesbian.

For Tabada, writing complex female characters comes naturally as a queer son who grew up in a female household in Lahug, Cebu City.

“I was raised by women: my mother, two sisters, my grandma, and my aunts. I am the only male in the house. Growing up, I was exposed to how women speak,” he told The FREEMAN in a virtual interview. “When my father left us when I was seven, I saw how strong and empowered my mother was raising three kids alone.”

His favorite comedies such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington,” shaped the way he wanted to tell stories through film, finding the genre to be powerful when audiences think through what the story is trying to say behind the punchlines.

“If they laugh, you already won half the battle,” said Tabada. “It’s such a powerful genre when you insert sociopolitical commentary.”

Perfect ‘Flower Girl’

His solo full-length directorial debut, “Flower Girl,” continues his exploration of womanhood with a comedic flair. Kapamilya actress Sue Ramirez stars as Ena, a woman who discovers that her lady parts are missing after a trans woman she offends casts a curse upon her. She must go through a journey to find someone who will love her for who she is, in order to get her “Poochy” back before it's too late.