Below is a link to the "Imong Pamilya" PDF script,
accompanied by a preview page from the film.
“ ‘Imong Pamilya’ is a short film about a Filipina girl named Hope who learns how to connect to her Lola through the stories of her great grandmother’s life in the Philippines. Hope has plans to live in Boston after college, but her Lola is intent on ensuring that she stays home. After all, “that’s what being Filipino is about, though. You take care of your family and they will take care of you.” Once her Lola expresses her frustration with her, Hope fails to understand why she is so upset with her decision. To explain to her what she’s feeling, her Lola compares this dissatisfaction with the story of her great grandmother’s life and immigration to the Philippines. “Imong Pamilya” means “your family” in Bisaya, a dialect of the Visayas. My family grew up in Dumaguete, Cebu, and the Visayas up until they moved to America shortly thereafter my great grandmother immigrated to the Philippines after the opportunities she was given by her sons and daughter that studied in the United States. To me, being Filipino is different than of what it means to my grandparents and parents, who are native to the Philippines. In an attempt to understand it, I took advantage of my senior project film class at the Orange County School of the Arts, and spoke about how I learned about my great grandmother’s story, which is one of the only things that connects me to my history. Doing this story allowed me to become closer to my Lola in spite of the conflicts we have concerning my future with college and the job I’ll have. Despite our differences, we are still a family with generations and generations of history that make us who we are today. I could go on and on about the background of the script, but since it’s a true story, I believe that the script can tell everything about it.
The Instagram for ‘Imong Pamilya’ is @imongpamilya; the account can be followed for more updates concerning production. The film will be coming out in May 2020!“
- Hailey Saga (they/them)
Art Editor at Marías at Sampaguitas Social Media Manager for Kissing Dynamite Poetry Intern at the Law Office of N.R. Bauer LA-OC Based Filmmaker
Originally published in October 2019.