SHORT FILM: WHEN YOU LEFT ME ON THE BOULEVARD'S POIGNANT STORYTELLING ON WEED, BOYS AND KARAOKE
BY IRVIN RIVERA
Kayla Abuda Galang's 2023 Sundance FIlm Festival Short FIlm Grand Jury Prize award-winning film "When You Left Me On That Boulevard" takes the audience directly in the heart of most Filipino-American family holiday gatherings- there's a lot of food, a lot of people, there's cousins, aunts, uncles, servings of tea and gossip, and the karaoke microphone that always takes the center stage.
I love how the first few minutes of the film also took me back to this familiar scenario that I experienced myself back when I first moved to the United States. It was loud, chaotic, but also warm at the same time. I attribute this feeling of nostalgia and familiarity to the filmmaking and storytelling techniques employed on this film. It's relatable, it's familiar, and it can be anybody's universal Filipino-American story.
Also, the aunt's karaoke singing sequence of "Boulevard" by Dan Byrd got the song stuck in my head for hours.
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