In collaboration with XPOSED Queer Film Festival Berlin
Introduction with Neo Novoseltcev on 4 June
Introduction with Merle Groneweg on 27 June

Climate change, a pageant queen, chosen kinship, and Filipino mythology including Babaylan, the traditional non-conforming healer and oceanic origin of humans: Asog is a road movie that brings together a variety of topics and protagonists from across the interconnected archipelago. A former teacher adopts her former student to become her apprentice when she journeys to the Philippines’ Miss Pageant Competition. Together with the native population from various islands, they discover what they share in common: something has been taken from them, be it natural resources or a sense of belonging and family. This inspires them to turn inwards and ask, “what am I here for?”, resulting in the union between queer performers and local natives against capitalist landlords. Asog shows how queer liberation lies not in mere gender diversity or rainbow flags, but in liberation for all. (XP)

Neo Novoseltcev (he/they), born 2000, finished his bachelor's degree in film studies in 2022 and since then works in the festival and market organisation at the Berlinale, as well as at the XPOSED Queer Film Festival. Additionally, as a film moderator and a theatre artist, he usually engages in projects with queer perspectives.

Merle Groneweg is a curator and organizer of the XPOSED Queer Film Festival Berlin. If they are not in the cinema, they are writing articles for critical outlets such as Missy Magazin.