Never Knew Love Like This Before

Incoming Editorial·Reviewed June 21, 2026

Manila, 2009. Thirteen-year-old Gino passes his time through television and phone games—until he discovers his father's stash of adult DVDs. When he catches sight of his father flirting with a bar girl in a seedy karaoke joint, Gino begins to question his father's authority and morality. But it's through an unexpected bond through catfishing Giliw, a trans woman from the same nightlife underworld, using his father’s identity, that Gino slowly confronts his longings, boundaries, and the tender confusion of growing up.