Private Project

#bagets (#teen)

After an old wank video of him goes viral on social media, a young food delivery rider in Manila attempts to reclaim his body from societal consumption.

  • Lester Cristal
    Director
  • Lester Cristal
    Writer
  • United Nations Children's Fund
    Executive Producer
  • Tim Rone Villanueva
    Producer
  • Monster Jimenez
    Creative Producer
    Leonor Will Never Die, Apocalypse Child
  • Bon Andrew Lentejas
    Key Cast
  • Sheenly Gener
    Key Cast
  • Karl Medina
    Key Cast
  • Rap Ramirez
    Director of Photography
  • Hogan Aragon
    Production Designer
  • Wille Apa
    Sound Designer and Musical Scorer
  • Lawrence Ang
    Editor
    About Us But Not About Us, Barber's Tales
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Social drama, Coming-of-age
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 28, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Country of Filming:
    Philippines
  • Language:
    Tagalog
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Lester Cristal

Gay and a native of the Manila slums, Cristal is no stranger to harsh realities. His films, which emphasize underrepresented, unheard, and underserved voices, challenge his community's conventions.

In 2020, he was nominated for Best Short Film by the Philippines' oldest award-giving body, the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS Awards).

In 2022, after graduating from film school as a scholar, he participated and competed in script and pitch programs at Interfilm Berlin in Germany and Sundance Institute in the US, as well as Globe Go Watch and The Greenlight in the Philippines and Drama International Short Film Festival in Greece, where he both won Mentorship Award, for his short film project #bagets. Campaign and production funding was then provided by the United Nations Children's Fund, and the film is currently in the distribution stage.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I met my first boyfriend on an online dating app. We were both 17 years old at that time. He was my first love and the first of many things. Just like Bryan, I would send private videos to him—almost every day. Because he appreciated it, and because I truly loved him. Eventually, my relationship with him ended and I began looking for someone—again—online. Apparently, in today's digital world, sending nudes and wank videos is now a language of affection. One day, one of my videos was uploaded to Twitter.

As I developed this story, I had to look at my experience more deeply and honestly. It made me explore the issue's complexities—its nuances and gray areas. What online and offline sexual abuse did to me as a teenager and how it has affected me to this day. That's why it's not just a cautionary tale or a message film, but this is a thorough depiction of a young man desiring to be seen and unseen as well as a sensitive insider's view of what it is like to be devoured digitally and in the real world.

#bagets encapsulates a mixture of horror and hope. It serves as a window into a young man's life we cannot skip and scroll. It's about growing up in today's world of social media, pornography, and commerce. And I want the world to witness the aching tragedy of today's youth.

This film is for the current and the next generation of young people.