Starring local teen actors and targeted at teens by local filmmaker Ruzelle Almonds, the new film celebrates the unique and diverse identities of Filipinos who call Guam home.
“It’s like Halo Halo is a short film that follows several high school students discussing their cultural identity, specifically from a Filipino perspective,” said Almond, a local filmmaker who earned a degree in communications from the University of Guam.
The cast of “It’s like Halo Hello” takes a break in between.
“And because each of these Filipinos has different backgrounds, such as where their favorite family members are from and how long they’ve been there, it’s important to bring different parts of their identities together when having these conversations. bring it to the table.”
The film’s title was inspired by British professor Tabitha Espina.
Posting on the Oregon Humanities website in December 2020, Espina wrote, “I’m hello hello… I’m all confused,” in a short essay on Filipino desserts.
“So the first is Ube, the second is Sapinsapin, and the third is Halo-Hello,” says Almond.
“The first generation is like roots, right? And the second generation is more layered because they’ve spent a significant amount of their lives here, their gender, their identity. And the third. Generations seem to be more confused, that’s halo-halo.
“I was inspired by her halo-halo metaphor because I felt there was no better way to describe the battle in my head about who I am. , which inspired the title and some of the dialogue: the film, but not directly related,” Almond said.
Almond decided to make a movie because it’s more interesting and understandable visually.
“It’s a very accessible way to share a message. You can hear it, you can see it. I’m more of a visual person myself, and I feel it’s a great way to express my vision and story through film,” Almond said.
Almond said she has been planning this project for some time.
“We’ve been planning it since last year. Since then, we’ve been doing post-production, pre-production for a while, we started production over the summer, and we’re doing post-production now.”
coming soon
After months of preparation, the release of the short film is approaching.
“We don’t have a specific date at the moment, but we’re hoping for sometime this year, so the goal is by the end of the year.
”Then I’ll send it to the film festival, and then see if there’s a permanent home for the film.
She added that she hopes the impact of “halo-halo-like” isn’t lost on the target audience.
“I love movies in general. Anyway, I’m a big fan of teenage content, so this particular movie is about teenagers. It’s just one of the most influential times in your life.” It is very important for people to create content that makes them feel relevant and empowered.”
