10s Across the Borders

🤩 10s Across the Borders, dir. Chan Sze-Wei, 2025, Germany/Philippines/Singapore, 99 min., in English, Chinese, Malay, Filipino, Thai, and Norwegian, with full English subtitles/open captions
Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 2:00 PM, Roxie Theater
🏆 Tampa Bay IGLFF & Tampa Bay TFF: Audience Choice Award (documentary)

10s Across the Borders

Frameline blurb: With arresting cinematography, 10s Across the Borders delivers a long-overdue snapshot of ballroom culture in Southeast Asia through the art and work of three trailblazing performers. Not so much a companion piece to Paris Is Burning, Chan Sze-Wei’s exhilarating documentary is like the beautiful offspring of the landmark film, showcasing the ways in which queer drag stars from across the globe have reinterpreted ballroom and made it resonate for their experiences and for the local and international audiences who can’t get enough.

Diving into the voguing scene in Southeast Asia, 10s Across the Borders takes us on an odyssey across several oceans to place the rich talent of the region front and center. The film introduces us to Xyza from the Philippines, who found her calling after being rejected by the modelling industry; Teddy from Malaysia, who used performance as an escape from the homophobia he experienced at home; and Sun from Thailand, a mixed-race queen who finds a sense of identity and community in the local ballroom community. A treat for lovers of adventurous and innovative drag, 10s Across the Borders culminates in a sensationally unique and exhilarating performance that sets the screen (and the world) ablaze.

“Being a monk is akin to doing drag. Put on a monk robe, shave your eyebrows and hair to portray and perform a specific character. However, a deep understanding of following Buddha’s path is not that you look like a monk, but the real presence that you put into the practice.” — Kema Chitto (Happy Soul), a.k.a. Sun

My take: In Southeast Asia, the Covid pandemic provided an opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community to explore, in the privacy of their own homes, some liberatory forms of expression, and then to connect online with kindred spirits, both at home and around the world. With the post-pandemic easing of restrictions on travel and gatherings, Ballroom culture has blossomed in several countries. There are challenges, with homophobic/‌transphobic/‌drag-phobic attitudes still prevalent, from the mostly Christian Philippines to predominantly Muslim Malaysia, and even in majority Buddhist Thailand, with vestiges of the colonial past in many cases mixing with conservative traditional social norms. With great respect to, and blessing from, the Brooklyn origins of Ballroom culture, these pioneers are taking it global. It’s an important look at a part of the world where LGBTQ+ culture doesn’t get much attention in western media, even media with an LGBTQ+ focus. It’s a must see for anyone who sees themself as a citizen of the world. If you’re new to Ballroom culture, welcome; if you’re a longtime devotee, come see how voguing is bringing LGBTQ+ realness to the far corners of the world.

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