Nowhere Near (2023)

Nowhere Near is a poetic memoir exploring stateless identity through the lens of an exile returning to an estranged homeland. The film begins with an investigation into my family curse – a curse that followed us for generations, rooted in the soil of my grandmother’s coastal province of Pangasinan. My ancestors had once ruled the land they inherited from Spanish colonizers. It is a land still bearing the remnants of colonial violence – first by Spain, then America, then between ourelves. This wandering psychogeographical journey encapsulates the seeming impossibility of returning home. I am making this film because through the transformative process of filmmaking. I believe I can lift the curse from my family and bridge our disconnection through borders.