Markova: Comfort Gay

Walter Dempster Jr. discovers her sexual identity as a teenager in the 1930s and begins to understand who she is. She is accepted by her mother and sisters and tolerated by her father, while her homophobic elder brother Bobby exerts brutality toward her. This early conflict plants the resolve to live openly later in life.

Bobby frequently beats Walter and arranges for a male friend to assault her, reflecting a violent family dynamic. The brutality continues until Bobby dies from an alcohol-related ulcer, bringing some relief to Walter. The trauma remains a shaping force as she grows up.

During the Japanese occupation, Walter and friends Carmen, Sophie, Anita, and Minerva perform as cross-dressing dancers at a nightclub. Japanese officers mistake them for women and take them to the Manila Hotel for a tryst. The ruse is discovered, setting the stage for deeper trauma.

Arrested for being misidentified as women, they are sent to a barracks where Japanese soldiers repeatedly rape them. The brutal abuse earns them the moniker 'comfort gays' and leaves lasting scars. They eventually escape during an Allied bombing raid.

Sophie embarks on a killing spree against Japanese soldiers in retaliation for the rape. She is later captured and dies under torture in Fort Santiago, marking a tragic end for one of the group. The survivors carry the memory of her fate forward.

The group disperses as the Battle of Manila rages, with each member taking a different path to survive. Minerva disappears and is never heard from again, underscoring the chaos of war. The collective bond dissolves under the weight of conflict.

After the war, Markova reunites with Anita and resumes dancing, moving forward with a sense of renewed independence. She also encounters an American sailor and helps a psychologically scarred Carmen re-embrace her identity. The period marks a shift from survival to professional artistry.

Markova stops cross-dressing and pivots to working as a makeup artist for actors, marking a transition into a different facet of the entertainment world. She continues to influence performers while maintaining her identity and artistry.

In her elderly years, Anita reveals that she had contracted AIDS, heightening the sense of vulnerability among the group. Markova undergoes a blood test and is relieved to test negative, underscoring the era's fear and uncertainty about the disease.

Markova visits Carmen, who is dying from a heart ailment, and brings her favorite food. Their interaction reinforces the deep bonds forged during years of struggle and shared histories. The meeting is poignant and grounded in love and memory.

Markova goes to the cemetery and grieves for friends whose graves she cannot locate, reflecting on the losses she carried from the war. The moment magnifies the lasting impact of those years on her life and identity.

In the present day, Markova finishes her testimony while Loren Legarda doubts its veracity as part of journalistic training. The tension between memory and truth becomes a narrative focal point. Markova senses the weight of being believed or doubted.

Offended by the doubts, Markova takes back the interview tape and offers it again only when she believes her story has been heard. Loren storms off, signaling a rift between witness and journalist. The moment emphasizes the fragile boundary between testimony and belief.

Alone in her room, Markova laments that her story remains disbelieved despite all she endured. She cross-dresses again for a dance with her younger selves, reminiscing her glory days and reaffirming her identity through performance.