2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten gets International Acclaim

Source: Star Cinema

After it's successful theatrical release in the Philippines last March 2017, Petersen Vargas' critically acclaimed film finally gets it's international debut. His coming-of-age film 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten is among the films in the Main Competition of the 32nd Torino LBTQI Film Festival (Lovers Film Festival-Torino LGBTQI Visions). Starring Khalil Ramos, Ethan Salvador and Jameson Blake, the highly-acclaimed film, set in the late 90s in Angeles, Pampanga, follows Felix Salonga, a friendless achiever, who is bent on topping his class to elevate his status from a resettlement area. Magnus & Maxim Snyder, half-American brothers, want nothing but to escape life from the Philippines with their prostitute mother and live with their American GI father in the US. The Snyder brothers each have their own way of reaching this dream. One struggles to finish high school with the promise of America after graduation while the mischievous one has a dark, sinister plan. As Felix develops a relationship with the brothers, he unearths desires within him he never confronted before. He slowly learns that behind the manicured lawns of “Little America,” each of his actions can lead to fatal consequences. [Star Cinema]

The film is one of the most controversial Filipino movies of 2017 after the film was slammed with an R-18 rating by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). The film was originally given a much lower R-16 rating by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) during it's limited theatrical run as part of the Cinema One Originals Film Festival. The R-18 rating surprised many, and was met with negative response from critics and audiences alike. Nevertheless, the film was met warmly by the Filipino audience, receiving positive response from viewers.

Source: 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten Facebook page

And last June 17 & 18, 2017, the film had it's international premiere at Multisala Cinema Massimo in Turin, Italy as part of the Torino LGBTQI Film Festival. It is the ONLY Asian Film in competition this year, programmed alongside titles like Andrew Ahn's Sundance-winning Spa Night and 2017 Berlinale's The Wound, among others. Also included in the festival is Jared Joven and Kaj Palanca’s short film, Contestant #4, an entry in last year’s QCinema fest. The Torino LGBTQI Film Festival is an important Italian cinematographic event, also well known in the international circuit. It is co-organized together with the Turin National Museum of Cinema and it is supported by public institutions, cultural ones and private sponsors. The festival, initially conceived simply as a programme of films focusing on LGBT themes, the event became a Festival in 1989 and was recognized as such by the Italian Ministry of Culture and Entertainment in 1990. Now, the festival attracts over 45 thousand people and is now the most important LGBTQ film festival in Italy and one of the oldest ones worldwide. [LoversFF website, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten Facebook Page].

After it's debut, the film garnered critical acclaim from critics. QuotidianoPiemontese.it says "It works perfectly and gives us feelings and fears of the protagonists, surrounded by the new experience it is rolled slowly on their souls and involves their bodies." GayPost.it calls it "One of the most interesting, visually seductive and stylistically impeccable proposals, in competition at the Lovers Film Festival, is without a doubt "2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten". 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten is one of the official entries in the 2016 Cinema One Originals film festival, where it won 3 awards, Best Supporting Actor for Jameson Blake, Best Cinematography and the highly coveted Best Film award.

Source: 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten Facebook page