theirenesoriano

Congratulations to all the filmmakers screening their short films at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program!!! Talent was plentiful - so many exciting shorts to watch! 11k short films were submitted for the 2025 edition, and 57 were selected. --- Congratulations to Filipino director Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan and VOX HUMANA, one of 14 International Fiction shorts in the program! @don.ebb Can't wait to celebrate with Don, #teamvoxhumana and all the short film directors in Park City!!! --- Vox Humana Writer/Director: Don Josphus Raphael Eblahan TRT 22 minutes In the aftermath of an earthquake, the police find a man in the woods. A zoologist, a sound recorder, and a news team grapple with the truth that he may be the cause of all the natural disasters that devastated this small mountain town. --- Director Statement When Indigenous identities, particularly cultural and environmental defenders, are silenced, imprisoned, or disappeared, it reflects an active dehumanization of our communities. Vox Humana shifts from examining what it means to be human to what it feels like to be deemed ‘non-human’ by forces targeting land stewards. The film uses sound, sensations, and feelings to imagine how non-human language—the voices of trees, insects, earthquakes, and the silenced identities—might resonate with the human ear. ... festival.sundance.org

I'm honored to be part of the @abramorama team bringing this powerful documentary @nurseunseendoc to audiences far & wide. Bravo to director @michelejosue & producer @carlovelayo for all the great work they've done thus far!! You can't tell me there isn't at least 1 Filipino nurse that you've come across in an LA (or US) hospital. Filipino nurses were a lot of what I knew in the late 70's & early 80s - when I visited the US in the late 70's, we went to Chicago to stay at my mom's brother's house, he married a nurse. We also stayed w/Auntie Merla who was a nurse at then, Cook County Hospital [she was first sent to Georgia from the Philippines]. When Auntie had parties, it was her nurse coworkers that attended alongside their husbands & children. When my mom & I finally immigrated to Los Angeles in the 80s, we again stayed w/Auntie Merla who relocated to East Hollywood & worked for many years till her retirement in the 2000s at Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Blvd. My mother was not a nurse but worked in the administration office at Kaiser, her brother worked in the surgical unit, & on & on & on. I had aunts & uncles that worked in different hospitals across the nation...an informal/formal network of connection. When I went for major surgery in 2019, the person who prepped me before I went into surgery was a male Filipino nurse, again, kind & reassuring. The kind faces I woke up to & voices I heard while drowsy were immigrant Filipina nurses who were tickled pink that they had a Filipina patient. They were the best & made those 3 days, which was scary for me, comfortable, filled with smiles & gentle care. When I found out the stark statistic that a disproportionate number of Filipino nurses lost their lives while working in the frontlines of the COVID pandemic, I was shocked & I was shocked that I was shocked. Of course that would be the case, many Filipino nurses were recruited to work in primarily Emergency rooms and ICUs . I remember the horrendous toll the pandemic took on Filipino health care workers - i saw them crying and sharing what they were going through on social media. I also saw how some of them decided to leave the profession. (con't in comments)

For Your Academy Award Consideration for Best Documentary Feature: the award-winning film @nurseunseendoc explores the little-known history and humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses who risked their lives on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate in the streets. Visit nurseunseen.com #representationmatters #nurseunseen #film #documentary #filipino #filam #pinoy #aapi #fyc #foryourconsideration #indie #indiefilm #academyawards #community #womeninfilm #nurse #healthcare #healthcareworker

SUNDANCE 2025 is Here! Congratulations to Filipino American writer/producer #ErnestoForonda, who served as Executive Producer for Justin Lin's latest feature, LAST DAYS! When we last connected, this project was in its production phase. Ernesto was Sundance's first Filipino American film programmer! A role he held for quite a time which was one of the reasons I was super excited to meet him earlier this year. Super proud to stand on his shoulders & honor the groundbreaking path he has paved. I also discovered that Ernesto's final thesis at Columbia University was the original script that became Justin Lin's BETTER LUCK TOMORROW, featuring, YES, the Filipino American protagonist Ben Manibag. I don't think the Fil Am imprint on this Asian American film aughts classic is widely known!  In addition to his remarkable work w/LAST DAYS, he has impressive producing credits including, of course,  BETTER LUCK TOMORROW which premiered in Sundance 2002. THE OWLS by Cheryl Dunye [BERLINALE], WILDNESS by Wu Tsang [premiered @ SXSW] & SUNSET STORIES, which he co-directed w/Silas Howard [premiered @ SXSW]. Ernesto does not rest, because look at this series of exciting projects he's working on: -THE RESEMBLANCE, directed by Derek Nguyen, is now streaming on Netflix (Producer) -ELEVEN MISSING DAYS, a feature film about Agatha Christie’s notorious disappearance, is in the casting phase (Writer|Producer) -UNTITLED FANNY PROJECT, a biopic about the pioneering all-female band FANNY, directed by Diane Paragas (Writer, co-written w/Joelle Luman | Producer, co-produced w/Joelle Luman & Diane Paragas) That's not all, Ernesto is also developing several works to amplify the Filipino (Fil Am) experience on a global scale: -BALIKBAYAN | A fish-out-of-water rom-com series about a fallen pop star's chaotic return to her homeland. & ASWANG | A folk horror feature about a hospital under siege by the mythical creature. And perhaps most exciting for me...he will be publishing 2 horror graphic novels in the coming year.  2025 is going to be an amazing year for him. Always so thrilled to amplify & celebrate the Filipino & Filipino/x American presence in Sundance's annual film festival line-up!

Congratulations to @andrewlreic, the director of Born Innocent: Red Kross! It was my second time watching this vibrant and thoroughly enjoyable music documentary, and it was just as electrifying as the first. The McDonald brothers (@stevenmcdonald & @jeffmcdonaldofficial) are incredible—pure musicians to their core. And yes, I spotted you, @gerefennelly! What a fantastic evening with a packed house. Bravo, @reddkross! Catch the doc at @laemmlenoho next Tuesday and @laemmlemonicafilmcenter on Wednesday It's LA music history from the 80s to now! Don't miss it!

When I sit down to write poems, I think about ideas in all their complexities, trying to capture meaning and a story through words and letters; some days are better than others. When I am stuck, I always go back to the work of poets who continuously keep me in a state of awe...always great reminders of the power of poetry. I've been reflecting on the animal rights and shelter animal rescue work I've done in the past and how I've been away from much of the work that was part of my life many years ago. In life as in my writing practice, animals have always shown up as subtext in many drafts of poems I've written through the years. This poem by Margaret Atwood is sharp and profound. Taking this opportunity to thank my @loyolamarymount poetry professor, Gail Wronsky @poetwronsky, for introducing me to the transformative power of poetry and shaping my writing journey through the most formative years of my life.

BONA opens in Los Angeles at @academymuseum December 2nd! We’re so excited to have director Lino Brocka’s nephew, director @allanbrocka introduce the film. Thank you also @theirenesoriano who champions our work in LA, and all the Filipino American organizations who are community partners on this screening, including @filamartsla @vcmediaorg @filamcreative @cinema_sala @onedown.media & more 📸 Please send us photos from tomorrow’s historic screening 👀

Spending time with Auntie Rose & Uncle Steve!!! -Max Soriano Saxon🐾 ---- Happy "Reason To Come Together With Family" to you and yours!!!! Thank you for being a part of our lives!

We at @abramorama are still reeling from the incredible box office numbers for ABS-CBN Films & GMA Pictures' star powered romantic drama that we are distributing, "Hello, Love, Again", earned an impressive $2.4 million during its opening weekend across North America (US & Canada) in only 250 screens! The movie's FIRST WEEK. Working on this project these past few months has been a masterclass in understanding the nuances of engaging the Filipino movie-going audience & inspiring them to head to theaters for mainstream stories rooted in the diasporic experience [the marketing team were phenomenal - Amorette Jones Media Consulting]. On the exhibition side, the exceptional Cinema Programmer Joe Garel led the charge in the US, while Evan & I concentrated on Canadian theater placements. My intellectual grasp of the "Filipino diaspora" got a jolt everytime we would get the latest #s from Comscore & the overwhelming turnout: Filipinos filling theaters to capacity, even selling out a Sunday 10 a.m. screening! We are legion! Did exhibitors underestimate our community? Absolutely. And do we sometimes underestimate ourselves? Far too often. As we celebrate this achievement for a major studio release, I can’t help but think about how we can channel this energy toward supporting Filipino/x American & diasporic independent films. It was heartening to see filmmaker @michelejosue’s indie documentary @nurseunseendoc thrive with multiple extended runs during its recent rollout. I know the apples & oranges argument. But it's a testament to the power we hold as a community when activated on different levels. Looking ahead, I’m also reflecting on the upcoming screening of Lino Brocka’s Bona [4K restoration] at the Academy Museum on Tuesday, December 2nd at 7:30 PM. With 277 seats to fill, can we count on LA’s Filipino/x/a American community to show up? Let’s rally together to support & honor this cinematic masterpiece. https://www.academymuseum.org/en/calendar for tix. [And yes, I know y'all are gearing up for Gladiator II this week/end—let’s balance it out w/some love for our own stories too!] See you on the 2nd of Dec for @kani.releasing's BONA screening! Come sit w/me.

Today marks the seventh anniversary of my poetry collection, Primates from an Archipelago. Over the past three years, my life has been deeply immersed in film curation and programming, leaving little time for poetry. Friends in my "film life" circle are often surprised when I share that my creative journey began with organizing literary readings back in 1994. My return to film festival work was reignited in 2021 when I received the Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival Film Programming Fellowship. Since then, I’ve struggled to find time to write new poetry unless prompted by a commission. Unlike many poets, I’ve never celebrated my book's "birthday" before—but this year feels different. With challenging times ahead, spanning the next four years, I’m reminded of how writing has always been a sanctuary for me. To mark the occasion, I’m sharing poems from the collection alongside a few newer pieces. Thank you to everyone who continues to support my book and my poetry. I’m still here, working on my next collection...slowly but surely. Book cover: watercolor painting by the talented visual artist @tala.mateo

LA you cannot miss this! Not on streaming, not on your phone...on the big screen. This theatre seats 277 people...bring your parents, cousins, siblings,Tito's, Titas, Lolos, Lolas....I remember growing up with Nora in my house in Manila. I remember the Nora vs Vilma followers! Tickets are $10, Seniors $7, Students are $5. ::::::: ::::::: Kani Releasing and The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures presents a screening of a 1980 Film by Director Lino Brocka, Restored in 4K BONA Starring Nora Aunor & Phillip Salvador Monday December 2, 2024 7:30pm https://www.academymuseum.org/en/calendar Ted Mann Theater 6067 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036 West Coast 4k Restoration Premiere The classic Filipino social drama Bona is a collaboration between two greats of Filipino cinema, director Lino Brocka and singer Nora Aunor, and has rarely been screened since its release in 1980. Aunor goes against the grain of her status as a national superstar by portraying Bona, a schoolgirl from a humble background who abandons her home life and moves in with her idol, a “B-list” actor named Gardo (Philip Salvador). Upon the film’s release, Aunor’s portrayal of Bona received praise from critics and audiences, marking a significant turning point in her career and showcasing her versatility as an actor. Adapted from a note by KANI Releasing. DIRECTED BY: Lino Brocka. WRITTEN BY: Cenen Ramones. WITH: Nora Aunor, Phillip Salvador, Marissa Delgado, Raquel Monteza. 1980. 86 min. Philippines. Color. Tagalog. 4K DCP. Scanned, restored, and color graded in 4K from its original 35mm camera and sound negative reels at Cité de Mémoire in Paris. Sound restoration by L.E. Diapason. Film handling, image, and sound repairs and digital image restoration by Régis Dessort. Negative scene-by-scene image scanning and color grading by Isabelle Barrière. CSI Negative sound scanning and digital restoration by L.E. Diapason. Project management by Denis Garcia.

Those who supported #notmypresident will eventually have to confront the irreversible damage they've unleashed. : : : In 2016, we rose to the challenge and stood in resistance—and we can do it again.