The Barkada: A Short Film (Unproduced)

The Work

Inspired by my dad’s childhood stories, The Barkada captures the bittersweet joy of moments lost to time.

My undeveloped short film tells the story of the Barkada, a found family that defined my dad's childhood through road trips, mahjong nights, and the poignant stories of enduring friendships.

It blends memories that molded my family's history with present-day reflections on inheriting a legacy you didn’t get to experience and the sadness of realizing certain eras end. I explore human themes that celebrate multigenerational connection: devotion, humor, and the commitment to come together year after year to make new memories.

The Skills

This project strengthened my abilities to craft scripts that captured emotion while maintaining a tight narrative structure.  

The script highlights voiceover-driven narrative, comedic dialogue, montage construction, nonlinear framing, visual storytelling, and intentional music cues to convey time, emotion, and theme. It reflects skills in character observation, naturalistic dialogue, and balancing humor with emotional weight, while translating lived experience into an intimate, yet universal, story that explores intergenerational legacy, community, and belonging.