Hello. My name is Erik and I'm a Filipino-American film-maker working in Nashville.
I’m working on a small collection of films, each very loosely based on a different fruit. The fruit will act as a guide and most likely won’t be the star, but all of the decisions for the film will be based on the fruit. The first one I plan on filming is 'Mango Mango.'
The root of the idea for 'Mango Mango' comes from my Filipino heritage. My childhood was filled with mangoes and being my mom's favorite fruit, I ate them a lot growing up. They are also the national fruit of the Philippines so it just makes sense.
Most Filipinos I talk to feel a sense of trying to fit in or need to regain their culture, and they have their own unique perspective on what that means. I want to capture a conversation between two Filipino friends and dig into what their Filipino culture means to them and how to preserve it. I'm hoping to shine light on this feeling of being an outsider and give hope to others that we all feel the struggle to fit in.
Now, the goal for each film is to be unique. They need to have their own identity. And each film will follow its own set of film-making rules.
'Mango Mango' is a blend of documentary and narrative, capturing unscripted conversations between friends that's being captured as a narrative film; an improv of sorts. There's no true script to follow, just a basic outline of topics and visual flow. This allows freedom to capture something purer than reading overly thought words that we try to perfect. It gives an organic nature to what is happening or being said. I want to capture a new conversation, something we are all witnessing for the first time -- a documentation of a mango.
The big thing about this project is the look so I want to shoot this on 16mm.
Something about the film-making process being shot on film feels so natural and tangible to me, so I want to capture this project on 16mm. There’s something more tangible with motion picture film. It actually becomes something and takes up more physical space in the real world. The emulsion creates a natural emotion that usually needs to be fabricated with digital film-making, and slapping some grain filter on something just bores me.
Éric Rohmer has heavily influenced me recently, and I want 'Mango Mango' to have a natural quality. I want to film people in a simple place talking about simple things, that's it.
Now comes the fun part - pulling off the idea... the real reason for this web page. Film-making is my choice of art, but sadly it isn't a cheap art.
Here's a breakdown of how much and where it is going. The biggest thing I need funding for is film stock, processing, and scanning, and that's crucial to the entire vision of the project.
I've teamed up with API Middle Tennessee to help with donations and your support gives me and my team the ability to continue making independent films. Visit apimidtn.org to learn more about their work across the Middle Tennessee area.
