‘LAHI’ to screen at Portland and San Diego Filipino film festivals

LAHI, a short film, is premiering as an Official Selection at Portland Film Festival (Oct. 12-22) and will continue screening in California at San Diego Filipino Film Festival (Oct.13-18)).

LAHI, the Tagalog word for race or legacy, is a short film about cultural identity filmed in Hawai’i. It is  inspired by writer and director Reina Bonta’s own experiences as a third-generation Filipina, as well as the life of her grandmother, a WWII survivor born and raised in the Philippines. The film secured early streaming distribution with Asian American-owned Electric Entertainment, and is now beginning its film festival circuit.

Director/Writer Reina Bonta is on the Philippines Women’s National Soccer Team and will be unavailable due to preparations for the 2023 FIFA World Cup, but Writer/Producer Angelique Axelrode will be present at PDXFF and SDFFF.

For more information about Portland Film Festival (named by MovieMaker Magazine “one of the coolest film festivals in the world”), visit: https://portlandfilm.org/. SDFFF, now in its second annual year, seeks to nurture global Filipino stories. For more information on San Diego Filipino Film Festival, visit https://sdfff.org/2021/ .

LAHI is a narrative about a young, culturally-disconnected Filipina girl named Mimi who returns to O’ahu for her grandmother’s funeral. On the island, she embarks on a journey to return a family heirloom and is visited by the apparition of her grandmother and elders whose stories about Filipino identity turn her worldview upside down.

LAHI features exceptional performances by Tiki Willis as Mimi (debut lead performance, known for Magnum P.I., upcoming Netflix pilot project) , Tessie Magaoay as Andrea, Virginia Almonte-Savella Harper as Gabriela, and Cynthia Bonta (Reina’s grandmother, lifelong activist) as Lola’s Apparition. DP Kilani Villiaros (NCIS: Hawaii), Producers Connie M. Florez (Waikiki) and Angelique Kalani Axelrode, and Executive Producer Bryan Spicer (24, Bones, The X Files) are crew members of the project.

For more information, visit LAHI’s website: https://www.lahishortfilm.com/

LAHI | 21 minutes | Drama

EMAIL: lahishortfilm@gmail.com

FILM TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/695224315

ARTICLE FEATURE: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/a-love-letter-to-lola

INSTAGRAM: @lahishortfilm | https://www.instagram.com/lahishortfilm/ | #lahishortfilm

REINA BONTA (Director/Writer) WEBSITE: https://www.reinabonta.com/