The inaugural Filipino-American Creative Film Festival launches in Los Angeles – Annenberg Media

FilAm Creative held the first FilAM Creative Film Festival in Los Angeles on November 3-5. Dressed in gowns and modernized filipiniana-style dresses for the red carpet, guests and nominees were greeted by aspiring Filipino American and AAPI filmmakers

USC students were granted free tickets to the event in alignment with FilAm Creative’s non-profit initiative  to provide  access to educational and cultural spaces for future leaders in the entertainment industry, especially Filipino Americans. Access included red carpet opportunities, workshops and screenings such as with Cannes Film Festival winner, Brillante Mendoza’s “Kinatay.”

Screenings included short films, music videos, animation and even an immersive animated virtual reality in partnership with Meta, called “Mahal,” directed by Michaela Ternasky-Holland. This story was inspired by Philippine Mythology and four immortal children dealing with the loss of their creator, god Bathala. The film shows how there is a price to mahal, meaning love and expensive in Tagalog.

Three  USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni and students showcased their films and animations at inaugural screening, including Jury Award winner Angel Cagandahan, who presented their first-ever short film, “Love, Lola.”

The sold out venue at Occidental College Thorne Hall teared up to the film’s familiarity with the Asian American experience, as it deals with a Filipino American man attempting to recreate dishes his late Lola, grandmother in Tagalog, would cook for him as a child.

“I grew up in a town [Sacramento] without a lot of Filipino Americans. It’s amazing to be surrounded by my culture and creatives here,” said Cagandahan. “I just met Bobby Pontillaz, a prominent animation figure, also Filipino American. It’s amazing to connect over the struggles of growing up in that diaspora and as a first-gen, you saw that through everyone’s work here.”

Achim Mendoza, a School of Cinematic Arts graduate student, curated the short film ”Connection,” which received three nominations for Best Short Film, Best Screenplay and Best Director. It was one of the nine nominated films selected to open up the festival, telling the story of how the internet brought a connection between two rivaling musicians during the pandemic, from France to the Philippines.

“Going to these festivals and getting to know people will expand your experience [in film],” said Mendoza. “There [are] so many stories FilAms don’t know about from the Philippines and so many stories Filipinos from the Philippines don’t know about FilAms. I’m excited for the future.”

After preparing the first annual three-day film festival for months, Executive Director of FilAm Creative Mark Labella was thrilled to execute the festival on Sunday with an Awards Gala Night at Hexi Los Angeles. The gala was a busy evening of food, performances and awards that left the crowd applauding with Filipino American pride.

“Countless days and nights, we were pioneering this festival for the community and heart of Hollywood. A zero-budget thing and we had 1,000 people show up at our first-time inaugural film festival. Hollywood needs to take notice of the support we’re receiving,” said Labella. “I want students to connect with these professionals in the industry, we want to help uplift them.”

In addition to DEI workshops with Warner Bros. Discover Access with Jamie Hernandez and Rising Filipina’s Therese Mui, alongside performances by people such as the FilAm’s Prince of Pop, Garth Garcia, guests were thrilled to watch music videos such as “Bubble Tea” by Ella Jay Basco. The video received the Best Music Video Award. “Palibut-Libot (In Circles)” won Best Short Film, Paco Escobal for Best Performance in “Paco,” and many other up-and-coming artists and new projects were highlighted.

“It’s a great opportunity for young Filipino artists to create their art and fuel these passion projects that are super important and can be super important to other people,” said Basco. “Film festivals are one of my most favorite things to go to, I’m excited for everyone’s work.”

Basco is preparing for her “FEMININE ENERGY” benefit concert on November 26, celebrating seven driven female bands. She will perform her song “Bubble Tea” on Hollywood Boulevard. Her film’s director Bianca Catbagan is thrilled to have been on this journey with Basco since last year.

“Ella is a great collaborator, she came up with a lot of those ideas. Just being able to execute those for her was amazing,” said Catbagan. “It was a fun summer weekend we did. A time capsule of them being that age, as we filmed it last year. Seeing it on the screen was amazing.”

Over three days, Filipino American creatives and supporters from Los Angeles connected for the first time over Filipino American wins in the entertainment industry. Guests and participants were thrilled to be involved in the first of many FilAm Creative Film Festivals to come to Los Angeles.

To view the complete lineup from the festival, check out their website.