Gay Filipino immigrant’s coming of age in ‘Homebound’
Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com
The film’s producers and co-directors Martin Diegor (top) and Anjelica Florendo
Eighteen-year-old Filipino immigrant Nico is in love with three things: New York, music, and his new friend, Jonathan. But nobody knows about that last part. So, when a drunk Jonathan spills a big secret on the night of senior prom, Nico considers telling his own—even if it means risking everything.
It’s the night of senior prom, but Nico has other plans. Besides, he doesn’t know anyone in this school that much anyway.
He spends the evening watching everyone through social media, talking to his best friend from eight time zones away, and excessively thinking if he should finally confess his feelings for his new best friend, Jonathan. Nico’s internal dilemma, however, gets interrupted by an SOS text from the devil himself… who’s had too much vodka than he could handle.
“School parking lot. Hurry!”
The next thing you know, Nico is flooring the gas down the streets of Jersey City for a late-night rescue mission.
Deserted 1:00 a.m. streets, two teenage boys, and tipsy talk end up being the perfect formula for a night of big decisions and big secrets, which all unravel as Nico and Jonathan try to make their way home before sunrise.
“Homebound” is a short film dedicated to the search for home—whether it’s a place, a thing, or even a person—lensed through the eyes of a young gay Filipino immigrant living in Jersey City. Here’s a link to their crowdfunding campaign.
Where the funds will go
During our initial round of fundraising, we gathered a total of $6,200, which will go to our pre-production needs such as:
• Casting location rental
• Camera rental
• Securing location permits
• Getting insurance
This round of fundraising aims to raise $8,000, which will go to:
• Transportation rental
• G&E equipment rental
• Fees for cast and crew
• Set design
• Hair, makeup, and wardrobe
• Craft services for a three-day shoot schedule
Why we want to do this
There are approximately 4 million Filipinos in the U.S. (migrationpolicy.org) and yet our stories are hard to come by in the media. If we are ever present, the characters seem incidental or portray an outdated caricature of the Filipino immigrant.
This short film aims to tackle the issues of uprooting and settling in a new country, the cultural differences between US-born and Philippine-born Filipinos, and modern layers of identity, love, family, and friendship that are unique to our culture’s point of view.
With your contribution, we can create a film that resonates, not just in the Filipino community, but with anyone who has left home and found it again in the arms of friends.
The short film is produced by Martin Diegor and Anjelica Florendo, “about two best friends who found home in each other.”
(C) The FilAm 2019
