While Boys Love (BL) and Girls Love (GL) are not new genres in content making — with BL tracing back to Japanese manga series in 1970s — they have been increasingly popular over the years, especially in free streaming services.
In the Philippines, the internet allowed fans to discover more BL content in the form of manga, TV shows and online series. Thai BL series are one of the most popular ones in contemporary BL genre with titles such as “SOTUS” (2016), “Love by Chance” (2018), and “2gether: The Series” (2020) being among Filipinos’ favorites.
It didn’t take long for Filipino creatives to produce their own BL series, especially during the quarantine and lockdown periods when binge watching became the norm.
“Gameboys,” “Hello Stranger,” “Gaya Sa Pelikula,” and “My Day” were four of the many titles produced in 2020 alone.
Sky Valley’ stars Tim Tuppil, James Lucero, Angelgrace America and Lienel Navidad are raking in almost over a million views per episode.
GL series, meanwhile, took a slow and steady growth with the likes of “Chasing Sunsets” and “Pearl Next Door” released around the same time.
Four years later and BL and GL series have taken a slower pace, with fewer titles produced compared to the height of its popularity in the country.
But BL director Xion Lim and his production company Oxin Films is firm in saying that this genre is not dying in the local entertainment industry.
In fact, Lim recently just launched his fifth title in the genre — “Sky Valley” which is now streaming on Oxin Films’ official YouTube channel.
“There still are some. But only a few are making them now. The BLs in other countries are really continuing steadily. Somehow, I still want to continue this in the Philippines. Many are still waiting for a good story,” Lim said at the series’ premiere in Quezon City.
A special project that Lim dedicates to his recently deceased father, the new show is a risk taker in highlighting both BL and GL in one series.
Sky Valley follows Fourth (Tim Tuppil) — a mysterious guest at the picturesque Sky Valley resort in Zamboanga City — and and Junjun (James Lucero), a loyal horseman working at the resort. Things didn’t run smoothly when they first met but a series of events will allow these two characters to really get to know each other.
The GL plot, meanwhile, focuses on Paris (Angelgrace America) — the chic travel vlogger and special guest Sky Valley — who falls for Taylor (Lienel Navidad), the daughter of the resort’s owner.
At the series’ premier, America and Navidad — who were first paired as supporting characters in the BL show “#OurStory” — expressed their gratitude to work together in a new show that puts more emphasis on GL.
“I say GL series truly deserves to be recognized and acknowledged. Recognition and representation are also our goals. Both Angelgrace and I and director Zion aim to be advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community, and it’s wonderful that we’ve been a part of its growth,” Natividad said.
“Our following and our audience have expanded and we are now receiving messages from viewers who’d say ‘It’s comforting and nice to see such representation with depth and meaningful stories.’ We’re happy to be part of that, and we hope the genre continues to grow and encourage more of its kind in the industry,” America added.
Director Lim said he wants to continue making BL — and now GL — series to also tell the stories of Filipino LGBTQIA+ members to the world.
Director Xion Lim (rightmost) with his Sky Valley main stars, and co-producer Chris Liquigan of Calton Studios (leftmost)
One of his inspirations is the continued support of the audience. He proudly noted that Oxin Films’ YouTube subscribers have doubled in one year, which is now at 640,000 count.
Viewership also remain high in his past few BL series. While “My Day” series — released three years ago — continue to be one of his most popular videos on the platform (with average of more than 3 million views each), Lim’s new show Sky Valley is raking decent digits. It’s first three videos (an episode is divided in three videos) have collectively amassed almost 1 million views in just a week.
“We’re also grateful because we were able to build audience not just in the Philippines but also worldwide. In fact, most of our viewers are from outside the country with our top three audience coming from India, Indonesia and the US,” Lim said adding that a global reach affords Filipinos representation in global LGBTQIA+ community.
While other platforms are becoming more accessible for filmmakers like Lim, he said he would rather continue offering free shows on YouTube to sustain his advocacy of spreading stories of LGBTQIA+ members.
“Sky Valley” also features Tirso Cruz III, in a very special role; and star from Oxin Films’ previous BL series namely Jericho Del Rosario (portraying the villain Jabo), Gio Emprese, Chad Kinis, Dovee Park, Hiro Shimoji, Philip Robles, Jake Villamor, Kate Yalung and more.
In partnership with Calton Studios, Sky Valley drops new episodes every Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 p.m., on Oxin Film’s YouTube channel.
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