FilAm | Short Film of the Day

Spotlight April 13, 2024

FilAm

By Tony Marquez with 6.9

drama · Short Films · english

The title of the film, a portmanteau of Filipino and American, sets the horizon of expectation right at the start. The pursuit to not only belong and find a sense of belonging but also figure out ideas of self and identity, where you came from in order to understand where you are headed, become core thematic concerns of the film. The engagement with all of these remains lucid and earnest throughout.

Our protagonist is a young boy who finds himself straddling two identities without being sure on which side he truly falls. If on the one hand, he wears Nikes and eats bacon, his connection to the culinary aspect of his Filipino heritage, as well as his strong desire to explore more of it, remains unshakeable, alongside uncertainty and doubts. The narrative shows how the two can indeed co-exist in a person.

The film presents an engagement with all of this and some more in a unique, authentic voice that is controlled and understated in a notable manner. The final result exhibits more potential in terms of storytelling and screenplay than could be explored in this brief project. It should definitely be interacted with further in subsequent endeavors.
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