Instagram story viewer> @awarewolves> Posts

Petersen 4-ever

@awarewolves

35.6K

followers

2594

following

I like watching & making sad films 〰️
✉️ [email protected]
✉️ [email protected]

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

THE PUSH ISSUE

Some nights in Manila do not end, they simply change their skin. The streets breathe differently after dark—with traffic slowly waning, shadows and darkness blanketing, and neon humming like a secret only the city knows. In those hours, the world feels both alive and dangerous, holding space for stories that rarely make it to daylight.

For Petersen Vargas, these nights were not just backdrops but a mirror that stands as a reflection and a witness to his own becoming. It is the pulse where memory and desire first learned to speak. With “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking”, he returns to them not as a tourist scraping for postcards for nostalgia but as a soldier unafraid to carve the truth of his queer identity into cinema. What unfolds is more than a film but a confession, a ballad, and a love letter to a city that bruises as much as it embraces.

In this opus, he circles back to where he began, not bound by the binaries of independent or mainstream cinema, but anchored in something more organic and true. Here, he is not a director for labels or markets, but a storyteller who has chosen, finally and fully, to tell a story that feels like his own skin.

For The Push Issue, we chart the trajectory of Vargas’ journey towards bringing this tapestry of tales to the fore, with agents to this story, @miguelodron, @argelsaycon95, and @tommy_alejandrino, joining him as he plays with fire and weaves the personal into a universal story of sex, self, and home.

Produced by Rank Magazine in collaboration with Lunchbox
Creative & fashion direction, styling, and interview by Leo Balante
Photography by @chris.cantos
Assisted by Niño Manalo
Beauty by @larscabanacan
Text by Margaux Gregorio and Frances Daco
Editorial & multimedia associates: @bhernn.saenz, Czairus Ronquillo & Ashley Pino
With fashion from @proudrace, @ninaamoncio, @_ha.mu_, @blanc.nue, and @randolfclothing
Shot on location at the Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport World Resorts
With acknowledgments to Kathy Mercado and Arthur San Juan at @newportworldresorts
Special thanks to @awarewolves, Jericho Rimando, Kylechandler Bigay, and Carl Chavez at @_lunchboxph taken in Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport World Resorts by @awarewolves

370

10

a year ago

FIVE BOYS . ONE NIGHT . TIME TO MEET THEM .

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 , a film by Petersen Vargas — starring @miguelodron , @jomariangeles_ , @argelsaycon95 , @tommy_alejandrino , @golddaceron .

New poster for the Philippine premiere by @publicschoolmnl . Lmk if you’ve seen it 🧨♥️🔥❤️‍🔥 there w/ all of you w/ all my heart . taken in Manila, Philippines by @awarewolves

1k

15

a year ago

@ilayailayastudios is now ^_^ !!

w/ Tita Malou & Inang :O

Kriz, before the panel .

Mga direks w/ Angge .

Hi , Maki !! >.<

Cheska at Bubby .

Yani , Lavrente , Sari .

Zild .

Gab , Dani , Martika .

Phil .

Jc at Meann .

Kasama si King !

Sam and Toni .

Hi , new friends !!

Fonz .

Hope you felt all the love , Tonet <3 taken in Karrivin Plaza by @awarewolves

740

6

5 days ago

Inumaga / umaga na naman . 🔅

🔆 tapos, ang sabi ng kanta, “and the darkest hour is just before dawn” taken in Balé • Pampanga by @awarewolves

553

9

15 days ago

Yoohoo dito ang tingin! 👀 Dahil may pasilip kami sa #JuanAndLilyRunForSKDay1 shoot! 😍
Excited na kayo sa mga eksena? SAAAMEDT!

Abangan ang #JuanAndLilyRunForSK starring Joaquin Arce, Lella Ford, Miguel Vergara, Krystal Mejes, Fred Moser & Eliza Borromeo. Directed by Petersen Vargas.

Coming soon sa iWant! by @awarewolves

2k

48

22 days ago

From our monthly (or every other month? 😃) film club — between Siriusdan and Couch Club. Jeko, this time, programmed for us Bob Fosse’s CABARET (1972), featuring a terrifying and electric Liza Minelli performance that won’t ever leave my head until now. Message me if you wanna join us next time ! It’s open to anyone who’d like to watch films with an intimate crowd. Masarap pa kape mo.

Also, I love my new DVD™️ belt . taken in Café Siriusdan by @awarewolves

493

5

24 days ago

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 is now available on Blu-ray via @vinegarsyndrome 💿 You may get the special limited edition slipcover (designed by the coolest @timetomorrow) or the standard edition at their site — click the link in my bio. Included are a COMMENTARY with actor @miguelodron and producer @jadefranciscastro, along with DELETED SCENES, and official LOOK TEST clips.

“In the seedy underbelly of Manila, teenage runaway Zion links up with a group of queer street hustlers who lead him on a heated journey of self-discovery in the tempting and dangerous nocturnal city.

Petersen Vargas’ propulsive, erotic drama artfully utilizes a roadtrip structure to disguise what becomes “a beautiful rumination on the significance of chosen family in the queer community, and the lengths we sometimes have to go to achieve it.” (@framelinefest)”

As a lover of physical media, I’m so grateful we got a Blu-ray release !! PLS AVAIL ! 🔥🎒🚶 by @awarewolves

957

21

a month ago

it's been a year since i photographed @awarewolves film, SOME NIGHTS I FEEL LIKE WALKING. in honor of it being released in blu-ray as well as its one year since its release, me and petersen would love to show you a thing we did last year from the vault.

a reimagination of 3 iconic queer films featuring the some nights cast.

call me by your name dir luca guadagnino
happy together dir wong kar-wai
love of siam dir chookiat sakveerakul

featuring @miguelodron @tommy_alejandrino @argelsaycon95 @jomariangeles_

a special thank you to @carlcchavez and @_lunchboxph @thelennongroup team!

photography by me
direction by @awarewolves
grooming by @by.gabvillegas
styling by @angelovasallo__

shot at @studiosegui by @awarewolves

3

31

a month ago

Warmest housewarming at my bebou’s 🍝🍷🍞💌

#shotoniphone taken in Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong City by @awarewolves

232

4

a month ago

P, 2024 taken in Sine Pop by @awarewolves

3

9

a month ago

CORNER’S CUT with Direk @awarewolves ! 🎬

Curious ka rin ba kung ano-ano ang mga paboritong pelikula ng award-winning director na si Direk Petersen Vargas? 👀

Alamin kung anong mga pelikula ang naging inspirasyon at paborito niya sa panibagong episode ng Corner’s Cut! 🎞️ by @awarewolves

492

6

a month ago

HELLO to my new kids ^_^ here’s to our first day of saying YES !! Yes ?? YES !! 🧶

Had a full fun afternoon workshop w/ these six !! Nice to meet ya ⭐️ Joaquin, Miguel, Fred, Lella, Krystal, and Eliza 🌟🤩

Salamat Norbs at Daphne !! Team pic for today ^_^

Here’s to saying !! YES !! indeed 🤌 taken in Cornerstone Studios by @awarewolves

12k

230

2 months ago