# Die Beautiful

Die Beautiful is a Filipino LGBT comedy-drama film produced and directed by Jun Robles Lana and co-produced by Ferdinand Lapuz and Perci M. Intalan, from a story by Jun Lana and screenplay by Rody Vera. It stars Paolo Ballesteros as Trisha, a trans woman who suddenly died after she was crowned winner of a gay beauty pageant and her friends who transform her into a different person on each night of her wake in a different location as a way to avoid being buried as a man by her father. It also tackles her whole life when she felt and dealt with problems and successes on living as a Filipina transgender as well as controversy in her family.
The film had its premiere at the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival on October 27, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan and it became an official entry to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival.

## Plot

Trisha Echevarria is a trans woman whose sexuality is greatly opposed by her father, causing her to leave their house and live with her best friend Barbs.
The film starts at Trisha's wake. She died after she was crowned as Binibining Gay Pilipinas. Everyday during her wake, Trisha transforms into a different female celebrity through Barbs' skills in putting makeup. When Trisha was alive, the two enjoyed doing makeup transformation together.
Iza Calzado, who crowned Trisha during her final pageant, visits the wake at the time when Trisha is wearing makeup that depicts her. During Trisha's transformation as Miley Cyrus, the funeral parlor owner Flora takes a selfie with her and uploads it online. The photo goes viral, inadvertently making Trisha's wake an attraction, much to Barbs' disapproval. Couturier Eugene Domingo also visits the wake and brings a white gown for Trisha to wear during her transformation as Julia Roberts from Runaway Bride.
Throughout the film, several flashbacks of Trisha's life are shown. During her teenage years, Trisha, then using the name Patrick, study in the same school with Barbs. Patrick has a crush on Migs, a basketball player, and goes out with him one night after Barbs' encouragement. There, he is gangraped by a drunk Migs and his friends, causing anal bleeding on Patrick. His father visits him on the hospital together with his sister Beth, and finds out about what happened. Enraged, Patrick's father slaps him.
Patrick's relationship with his father is further strained as Patrick begins entering gay beauty pageants in secret. This leads his father to disown him. As he leaves, Patrick announces his new identity: Trisha Echeverria.
Trisha stayed at Barbs' house, with Barbs' mother's approval. She adopts an orphaned child named Adora, giving her a new name as Shirley Mae. Jobless, Trisha and Barbs continued to enter different pageants. Trisha often loses during the question-and-answer portion of these pageants. She then gets breast implants, thinking that it will help her win pageants.
Trisha dates a young gay club dancer named Miko. She even pays for Miko's rhinoplasty, but soon learns that Miko is having an affair with a gay beauty parlor owner, ending their relationship.
Trisha meets Jesse at a bar. Although Jesse is married, they start dating. On their sixth monthsary, Jesse fails to arrive. A month after, Jesse's wife Diana invites Trisha to the hospital where Jesse was confined due to leukemia. Jesse tells Trisha about his condition and confesses that their meeting was not accidental. Jesse is urged by his conscience as he was part of the group who gangraped Trisha during their teenage years. Although he tells Trisha that he grew to love her, Trisha is left distraught by the revelation and promptly leaves.
Trisha joined Binibining Gay Pilipinas and picks a question she had encountered before. She delivers her memorized answer well: saying that if she dies and gets to live again, she would choose to be nobody but herself. At backstage, Trisha jokingly tells Barbs that if she won the pageant, she is ready to die. She further envisions her wake to have a makeover as different celebrities every day. Trisha finally wins but dies shortly of cerebral aneurysm.
In the morgue, Trisha's father and sister arrive. Her father orders to have Trisha's breast implants removed. Beth disagrees. Their father ends up having Trisha dressed in a barong Tagalog, a garment traditionally worn to a deceased male. Barbs, Paola, and Erica are disappointed at the sight of their friend and asks for Beth's help to sneak out Trisha's corpse and give her the burial she wished for.
In the last day of her wake, Barbs announces that the final makeover of Trisha is what she really is: the Trisha they knew who lived a glamorous life. The movie ends with Trisha's final walk message, showing a younger version of herself.
Other celebrity transformations of Trisha during her wake are Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé.

## Cast
### Main cast

* Paolo Ballesteros as Trisha Echevarria / Patrick Villar
* Christian Bables as Bobby/Barbs Cordero

### Supporting cast

* Joel Torre as Mr. Villar - Patrick's Papa
* Gladys Reyes as Beth Villar
* Luis Alandy as Jesse
* Albie Casiño as Migs
* Faye Alhambra as Adora/Shirley Mae
* Inah de Belen as teen Shirley Mae
* IC Mendoza as Paola
* Cedrick Juan as Erika
* Lou Veloso as Mama Flora
* Mimi Juareza as Mommy

### Guest cast

* Iza Calzado as herself
* Eugene Domingo as Maumau Zaldriaga (famous couturier)
* Mel Martinez as gay parlor owner
* Jade Lopez as Diana
* Adrianna So
* Kokoy de Santos as Michael Angelo

## Production

Die Beautiful is a film funded by Hong Kong – Asia Financing Forum and produced by Regal Entertainment, The IdeaFirst Company, and Octobertrain Films. The film was directed by Jun Robles Lana and produced by Lily Monteverde, Roselle Monteverde and Perci Intalan.

## Release

Die Beautiful was selected in the Main Competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 25, 2016, to November 3, 2016.
The film is an official entry to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival, and was screened at the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival.

## Reception

At the awarding ceremony at the Tokyo International Film Festival which was held on November 3, 2016, at the Toho Cinemas in Roppongi Hills in Japan, Paolo Ballesteros was named the festival's Best Actor. The film also won the Audience Choice Award.
The jury was headed by French director Jean-Jacques Beineix, and included Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung, U.S. producer Nicole Rocklin, Italian actor Valerio Mastandrea and Japanese director Hideyuki Hirayama.
A total of 16 films, with Die Beautiful being the only one from the Philippines, were in competition.

## Sequel

It was announced that a sequel was in production to be a 12-part spin-off television series to be aired on Cignal Play entitled Born Beautiful with Paolo Ballesteros reprising his role and Martin del Rosario picking up the role of Barbs which was originally portrayed by Christian Bables. Instead, the producers decided to make it into a full-length film with majority of the story focusing on Barbs.
A musical adaptation of the film, titled Die Beautiful: The Musical is scheduled to be released in 2025.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2016 | 29th Tokyo International Film Festival | Audience Choice Award | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2016 | 29th Tokyo International Film Festival | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2016 | 21st International Film Festival of Kerala | Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Picture | Die Beautiful | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Director | Jun Lana | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Christian Bables | Won |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Gladys Reyes | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Ensemble Cast | Die Beautiful | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Rody Vera | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Production Design | Angel Diesta | Nominated |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Float | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2016 | 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | MMFF My Most Favorite Film | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2017 | Film Development Council of the Philippines | Film Ambassadors Awardee | Paolo Ballesteros and Jun Lana | Won |
| 2017 | 19th Gawad Pasado Awards | Pinakapasadong Pelikula sa Kamalayang Pagkakapantay-pantay ng mga Kasarian | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2017 | 19th Gawad Pasado Awards | Natatanging Gawad Pasado para sa Taong 2016 | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | 15th Gawad Tanglaw Awards | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | Guild of Educators, Mentors and Students | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | Gawad Bedista Awards 2017 | Actor of the Year (Film) | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | 48th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards | Global Achievement by a Filipino Artist (Tokyo Best Actor) | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | 1st Eddys Awards (Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards for Movies) | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | 1st Eddys Awards (Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards for Movies) | Best Editing | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2017 | 1st Eddys Awards (Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards for Movies) | Best Production Design | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2017 | 40th Gawad Urian Awards | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |
| 2017 | 40th Gawad Urian Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Christian Bables | Won |
| 2017 | 40th Gawad Urian Awards | Best Production Design | Angel Diesta | Nominated |
| 2017 | 40th Gawad Urian Awards | Best Editing | Benjamin Gonzales Tolentino | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie of the Year | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Director of the Year | Jun Lana | Won |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Actor of the Year | Paolo Ballesteros | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Supporting Actor of the Year | Christian Bables | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | New Movie Actor of the Year | Christian Bables | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Screenwriter of the Year | Rody Vera | Won |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Cinematographer of the Year | Carlo Mendoza | Won |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Production Designer of the Year | Angel Diesta | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Editor of the Year | Benjamin Tolentino | Won |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Musical Scorer of the Year | Richard Gonzales | Nominated |
| 2017 | 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Movie Sound Engineer of the Year | Armand De Guzman and Lamberto Casas, Jr. | Nominated |
| 2018 | 5th Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards | Best Film | Die Beautiful | Won |
| 2018 | 5th Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards | Best Actor | Paolo Ballesteros | Won |