Sibak: Midnight Dancers is the first of a series of three gay-themed movies by Mel Chionglo and Ricky Lee

Ricky Lee

Ricky Lee is a Filipino scriptwriter. He has written more than a hundred film scripts since 1979, earning for him more than 50 trophies from award-giving bodies...

 about the lives of macho dancers (strippers) in the gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 bars of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

. The later two are Burlesk King

Burlesk King

Burlesk King is the second film in the gay-themed trilogy of Mel Chionglo and Ricky Lee about the lives of macho dancers, men who work as strippers in Manila's gay bars. The first is Sibak: Midnight Dancers; the third is Twilight Dancers...

and Twilight Dancers

Twilight Dancers

Twilight Dancers is the last installment of director Mel Chionglo and writer Ricky Lee's trilogy about Macho Dancers. The first part was Sibak: Midnight Dancers in 1994, and the second part was Burlesk King in 1999...

. All three follow in the tradition of Lino Brocka's 1988 film Macho Dancer

Macho Dancer

Macho Dancer is a 1988 Philippine film, directed Lino Brocka, which explores the harsh realities of a young, poor, rural gay man, who after being dumped by his American boyfriend, is forced to make a living for himself in Manila's seamy red-light district...

. This movie was banned in the Philippines.

Synopsis

The story revolves around the lives of three brothers who work as strippers in a gay bar. The oldest, Joel has a wife and a boyfriend. Dennis, the middle brother, steals car radios with his friends. The youngest Sonny, dropped out of college and has a transsexual lover.