i began making this documentary in January 2023. i was 3 years into film school, spending all my money on beer and failing nutrition 303, but finally coming to understand what i wanted to do in the film industry. the one thing holding me back: my relationship with my ethnicity.

being half-filipino and half-white, i didn't know if i could write an asian protagonist. i didn't know if my mixed identity allowed me to tell asian stories. i didn't know if i fit into my ethnicity, into my own family.

so, i attempted to answer those questions: who am i? what does it mean to be mixed? am i similar enough to my filipino side to claim that part of my identity?

what manifested was an incredible journey of self-discovery not only in terms of my ethnicity, but in terms of my culture, my father, and of my life (as cheesy as that sounds).

this documentary is my story. my hard conversations with my parents, my attempts of connecting with my family who lives 8,000 miles away, my awkward smile when i get uncomfortable. but during this process, one of the things that gave me comfort was realizing that these struggles were not unique to me. that people of all ethnicities, cultures, identities… everyone struggles and everyone finds their own ways to overcome. and i think there's some beauty in that.