Sibak: Midnight Dancers

Sibak: Midnight Dancers
Sibak: Midnight Dancers
	DVD poster
Directed by	Mel Chionglo
Written by	Ricky Lee
Starring	Noni Buencamino ; Lawrence David; Gandong Cervantes; Alex Del Rosario;
Release dates	September 9, 1994(TIFF); July 5, 1995(Philippines); September 28, 1995(United States);
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino

Last updated July 18, 2025

Sibak: Midnight Dancers is a 1994 Philippines film, and the first of a series of three gay-themed movies by Mel Chionglo and Ricky Lee about the lives of macho dancers (strippers)^[1] in the gay bars of Manila. The later two are Burlesk King and Twilight Dancers .^[2] All three follow in the tradition of Lino Brocka's 1988 film Macho Dancer. This movie was banned in the Philippines.

Plot

The story revolves around the lives of three brothers who work as strippers in a gay bar in Ermita, Manila.^[3] The oldest, Joel, has a wife and a boyfriend. Dennis, the middle brother, steals car radios with his friends. The youngest, Sonny, dropped out of college and has a transsexual lover.^[4]

Cast

Nonie Buencamino as Dave
Lawrence David as Sonny
Gandong Cervantes as Dennis
Alex Del Rosario as Joel
Luis Cortes
Danny Ramos
Richard Cassity
John Mendoza
Leonard Manalansan
Perla Bautista as Mother
Ryan Aristorenas as Bogart
Soxie Topacio as Dominic
Maureen Mauricio as Zeny
Ray Ventura as Gregorio

Reception

The film received positive reviews from the Toronto Film Festival.^[5] However, the film was banned by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.^[3]

References

↑ Sarmenta, Serverino R. (2008). Movies that Matter: A Festschrift in Honor of Nicasio D. Cruz, SJ. Office of Research and Publications, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University. p. 31. ISBN 978-971-0358-36-6 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.
↑ Acar, Aedrianne (21 September 2019). "Showbiz industry mourns the death of master director Carmelo 'Mel' Chionglo". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
1 2 Hidalgo, Antonio A. (1996). The Asian Traveller. Anvil Publishing Incorporated. p. 28. ISBN 978-971-27-0551-9 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.
↑ Levy, Emanuel (1994-10-24). "Midnight Dancers". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
↑ Malone, Peter (2007). Through a Catholic Lens: Religious Perspectives of Nineteen Film Directors from Around the World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5230-2 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.

External links

Sibak: Midnight Dancers at IMDb

This article about a drama film with a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender theme is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to a Philippine film of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Sarmenta, Serverino R. (2008). Movies that Matter: A Festschrift in Honor of Nicasio D. Cruz, SJ. Office of Research and Publications, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University. p. 31. ISBN 978-971-0358-36-6 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.

[2] Acar, Aedrianne (21 September 2019). "Showbiz industry mourns the death of master director Carmelo 'Mel' Chionglo". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 20 January 2022.

[hidalgo1-3] 1 2 Hidalgo, Antonio A. (1996). The Asian Traveller. Anvil Publishing Incorporated. p. 28. ISBN 978-971-27-0551-9 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.

[4] Levy, Emanuel (1994-10-24). "Midnight Dancers". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-17.

[5] Malone, Peter (2007). Through a Catholic Lens: Religious Perspectives of Nineteen Film Directors from Around the World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5230-2 . Retrieved 20 January 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]