How Long Is “Markova”?

Acclaimed Filipino filmmaker Gil M. Portes directs this harrowing account of the life and times of the openly gay Walter Dempster, Jr. AKA Markova. The film opens with Markova watching a documentary of elderly "comfort women" describing their horrors at being forced into prostitution by the Japanese army. From this starting point, Markova (Dolphy) relates he was abused as a child by his bullying older brother. When he died, Markova's taste of freedom was short-lived because he himself was forced into prostitution during the Japanese occupation. When American troops liberated the Philippines, Markova's situation only improved slightly under the ultra-conservative post-war regime. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival.