A STORY OF KAPWA
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE ✯ ENGLISH, TAGALOG ✯ USA ✯ 73 MIN. ✯ COLOR ✯ 5.1 SURROUND SOUND
LOGLINE: As the world grapples with an emerging global pandemic, three young Filipino women forge unexpected connections with their families and discover themselves in the process. A self-documented time capsule during turbulent times, WHO WE BECOME captures the unbreakable bond between Filipino family and community. WHO WE BECOME is a story of kapwa. Kapwa means togetherness, means neighbor. It is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. It is “unity of the one-of-us-and-the-other.”
The film captures the unbreakable bond between Filipino family and community.
OUR PROTAGONISTS
During times of crisis triggered by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, blatant racial injustice, and a Trump presidency, Lauren, Monica, and Jenah give audiences an honest and intimate look into “kapwa” through self-documented intergenerational conversations and resilience.
LAUREN
THEY/THEM
Lauren (22) never expected her final college semester to take place under a pandemic lockdown. Uncomfortable with unmasked family gatherings, Lauren drives home to Bedford, TX to experience her Zoom graduation with extended family. When the trip home turns into an unexpected moment of openness and healing, Lauren grows closer to her parents in ways she never thought possible.
Lauren Yap is a queer, first-generation Filipinx American who graduated with a degree in film from the University of Texas at Austin. They have produced various commercials, music videos, and live events. They are drawn to projects that spark conversation and highlight voices that are typically underrepresented on and behind the screen. Lauren is a protagonist for WHO WE BECOME, a documentary that follows young Filipino women during the pandemic as they engage in much-needed intergenerational conversations about the COVID-19 crisis and growing racial injustice during the Trump presidency. Lauren’s passion for amplifying Queer and BIPOC stories inspired them to develop the documentary, ‘I Need Space’. Their aim is to shine a light on the resilience of the Austin queer community, who—like many others nationwide—are fighting simply to exist. Through this project, they hope to bring solace and empower others who are looking for safety and belonging in the face of adversity.
MONICA
SHE/HER
When the world is shaken by the brutal murder of George Floyd, Monica (24) tells her parents she’s thinking of attending a Black Lives Matter protest only to be encouraged to stay home and pray instead. After defying her parents’ wishes and with the impending 2020 election, Monica takes a risk and sets out to use her social media platform to reach across the aisle to undecided voters and to her conservative parents who see Monica in a new light.
Monica Silverio is a Filipino-American filmmaker based in Austin, Texas, but was raised in the Rio Grande Valley within a tight-knit Fil-Am community. She is currently a full-time content creator at a creative agency, but loves to work as a director, editor, and production designer on outside personal projects. In addition to filmmaking, Monica also directs music videos for local artists and is a content creator on TikTok. As a subject of WHO WE BECOME, Monica is seen using her filmmaking skills to spotlight important stories during the 2020 election, and to tell her own story throughout the documentary.
JENAH
SHE/HER
Isolated by the pandemic, Jenah (28) begins to question her life path having left a career as a nurse to pursue her calling as an activist and artist despite the concerns of her parents. With the on-going violence against the black community and attacks targeting Asian Americans escalating, Jenah struggles to find ways to help the community ravaged by hate crimes. After being shaken by the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings and with the help of a friend, Jenah finds her power again and leads her community into a crucial moment of solidarity and healing.
What Jenah Maravilla does can be divided into “Heart” and “Hard” work. Her “Hard” work includes community organizing with nonprofits such as OCA Greater Houston, Filipino American National Historical Society, and until recently, UniPro Texas. Alongside that, she runs a couple of small businesses aimed at uplifting diverse stories through the lens of care.
Her “Heart” work is rooted in the “Hard” work and expressed through art and poetry. In 2018, she co-authored Filipinos in Houston with her mentor, Christy Panis Poisot. Maravilla felt empowered by this experience, diving into spoken word. Since then, she has performed for and created workshops with local and national audiences. Last year, she was a featured poet at Blaffer Museum’s “A Time for Action” and an artist in DiverseWork’s “Overlapping Territories” exhibit, where her poetry served as a springboard into experimenting other mediums. Maravilla’s art centers around the ideas of honoring those that came before, empowering those present, and shifting the conversation to radical vulnerability.