On Jan 17, there was a film screening at the Cien Ojos Studio of Stories in the Soil: Where the Delano Manongs rest their stories rise, directed by Christine Rose. The film was about Devon , a friend of Christine’s finding out he had many relatives that were a part of the Manong generation during a visit to the cemetery in Delano, Ca. By the end of the film Devon becomes inspired to find a way to make the names and identities of his ancestors known.

During the film, it discussed  Filipino history. The Philippines is a country with over seven thousand islands. Filipinos first arrived in the United States in 1587. In the 1900s thousands of Filipino men known as the Manong generation migrated to the California fields to seek work. Manong is illecano dialect which is a term of endearment for an older brother. During the film we learn after a trip to the cemetery that devon had many relatives buried there apart from the Manongs. Though Christine did not have any relatives within that cemetery she commented it was surprising for her to find out about Devon’s lineage. Devon was able to find out some specifics on some of his relatives such as one was a chef while another was a musician showcasing these were all individuals with lives dreams and aspirations their lives were not just limited to agricultural work and their stories need to be known.

A question asked to Christine was “How can we bring Filipino unity?” Her answer was by learning who we are asking our elders questions and always holding space for them. She wants to also inspire others to tell their own stories. We asked Christine what inspired her to pursue film making and what challenges did she encounter while making her film? She tells us she had already been a story teller with her years as a journalist and that she felt she’d be able to do it since she also has social media experience. The filming was only done from September to November and that deadline made it stressful not only that but in conjunction with filming she was doing the Fil Fiesta 559, Filipino festival. We also asked about Christine’s time in journalism. She told us it was fun but also could be very stressful. She told us that she always had a passion for telling stories and knew journalism was something she always wanted to pursue which made it her dream job.

After the open ended conversation Christine held it inspired us to do our own digging.Taking a trip to the local cemetery we did not find any relatives but did see many family members buried together in one place. From hearing Devon’s story it raises the question how many forgotten stories and people lie under the soil.