Untold Stories

Serbis is an independent film by Brillante Mendoza, starring Gina Pareño and RP’s prince of indie movies Coco Martin. The film is a story of men who offer sexual services inside a movie house. It was invited to the official competition of the 61st Cannes Festival in France and was regarded as the most controversial in Cannes for the year 2008.

A rural family decides to run a prostitute service based in a fake theater in Angeles, Pampanga. The theater shows dated sexy double-feature films. The old building also serves as the residence of the family. Nanay Flor serves as the matriarch of the movie house while her family serve as her employees. Her daughter Nayda, son-in-law Lando and adopted daughter Jewel take turns in manning the ticket booth and canteen. Her nephews Ronald and Alan also help in the family business as a projectionist and billboard painter respectively.

Nanay Flor files a bigamy case against her husband but loses the case and feels betrayed when her own son testifies in court in favor of his father. Alan, financially unprepared for marriage, feels burdened by the fact that his pregnant girlfriend wants him to marry her. Nayda is torn between her commitment to her husband and her attraction to her cousin Ronald.

Unknown to the family, aside from movies, there's another kind of business going on inside the theater. The movie house also serves as a den for "serbis" boys (male prostitutes) who offer sexual services to gay patrons for a price.