ALAALA
2025
ANIMATED SHORT FILM CREATED FROM WOODBLOCK RELIEF PRINTS ON JAPANESE PAPER
DURATION: 1:42 MINUTES
artist statement
Alaala (Tagalog, pronounced: ah-lah-ah-lah) is the Tagalog word translating to "memories" in English or "souvenir" in French.
This project is a series of varied prints brought to life through animation. It is a reimagining of my memories of views while travelling by passenger ship from Manila, two hours from where I grew up, to Zamboanga, where my dad grew up and my grandparents lived. This work explores the ache of missing my first home.
Instead of depicting realistic sceneries, I created abstract and geometric interpretations inspired by pre-Spanish/pre-colonial Filipino heritage:
1. The Pintados: the indigenous tattooed peoples who lived in Central Philippines.
2. Baybayin: the ancient script of Luzon, translated to line work.
3. The Vinta: the traditional boat used by the indigenous peoples of Zamboanga.
By blending the tactile variations, textures, layers and unpredictable markings of printmaking with traditional animation techniques like line boils, I was able to create the illusion of movement, maritime turbulence and the passage of time.
Inspired by the words of artist Beatrice Carvalho, this project became a continuous exercise of "seeing the pleasure of facing difficulties and adjusting them to work in your favour," approached through the lens of a "beginner's mind."
O Pilipinas
Mag-iisang dekada na ang nakalipas
Malinaw pa sa isipan ko
ang mga karagatan mong tila walang hanggan
Ang tindi ng sikat ng araw
Ang init ng ihip ng hangin
Ang kanta ng Maya sa lilim ng Acacia
Ang tamis ng mangga
Mga ingay sa kalsada
Ang tawanan ng mga kapitbahay
Ang amoy ng ulan
Ang mga yapak ko sa iyong buhangin
Ang kantahan ng mga kuliglig
Ang kislap ng mga bituin
Ikaw ang una kong tahanan
Dala kita sa bawat hakbang
Araw-araw ang puso ko'y naglalakbay
naghihintay
sa sandali na muli akong makakabalik
Pero sa ngayon, ikaw ay alaala
Hanggang sa muli.
Credits:
Background audio sourced from kevp888, exman1337, teamenfil, davidgtr1, and timothyd4y via Freesound.org. Special thanks to Kayla Del Greco, Catherine Wild, Beatrice Carvalho, and Micah Goldstein.