Leaving home doesn’t mean letting go

When trailers began to drop around the film “Forgotten Island” earlier this spring, I knew it was already going to be something different. While this isn’t a new story about the power of friendship, it is one of the rare times it tells this story of leaving through an unapologetically Filipino diasporic lens in a mainstream production.

The DreamWorks Animation film from directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado centers around two best friends, Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano) as they come to a pivotal point in their lives. Raissa is getting ready to leave the Philippines to attend CalTech in Pasadena. Beyond H.E.R and Soberano, the film doesn’t have any shortage in star power in voice talents including Dave Franco, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng and Lea Salonga. 

Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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The story is packed with Filipino mythological creatures that Jo and Raissa encounter when they are transported to the magical island of Nakali during their last night together before Raissa departs for America. I was familiar with many of these beings through stories told by my grandmother such as the duwende, tiny spirits that inhabit many of the areas we walk, to others I had never heard of like the kapre, giant tree-like creatures. The great thing is that you don’t have to be Filipino to connect with this film. Its heart is the friendships and memories that keep people close and connected – which encapsulates much of the Filipino diaspora experience.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, about 4.6 million respondents identified their ethnicity as Filipino. The Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to more than half a million people of Filipino descent including 154,000 in Los Angeles city and about 27,000 in Long Beach. 

While the film is set in the Philippines during the 1990s, it intentionally speaks to the Filipino diaspora experience, including the sacrifices that often accompany leaving your motherland for another place – something that immigrants and children of immigrants can relate to all in the backdrop of Filipino folklore and mythology.

(from left) Raissa (Liza Soberano) and Jo (H.E.R.) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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In the trailer, Raissa says “These are our memories,” to which Jo responds, “And we are going home.” The film connects remembering with belonging and brings up the question of what “home” really means. That is why many Los Angeles area Filipino community organizations and Filipino American student associations at universities are rallying people to the theater this weekend when the film opens nationwide on Friday. 

For any film, especially one that features an underrepresented community in general, the first box office weekend is crucial to show a strong attendance and audience interest. 

Los Angeles based non-profit Cinema Sala is teaming up with Filipinx in Entertainment (FXE) to conduct Operation “StormTheBoxOffice” for the film because “it is about proving that there is an audience for the Philippine diaspora. And that’s one of our biggest missions,” said Mallorie Ortega, co-founder and vice president of Cinema Sala. “It is proving that there is an audience hungry for our stories and that the industry should continue to say yes to us. So that’s why it was so important to organize our community and to sell out theaters.”

Manang (Lea Salonga) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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SoCal Filipinos, a non-profit network of Filipinos in Southern California, is also organizing screening events. 

“As SoCal Filipinos, we want to support events, artists and films. We decided to do a buyout of a theater. The response was amazing. We sold out of our auditorium in 30 minutes,” said founder Jason Lustina. The group bought out a theater at the AMC at the Grove. 

“We need to show Hollywood, film makers, directors and producers that Filipino stories matter and that our stories are relatable not to just Filipinos but to everyone,” he said. 

“If you’re Filipino whether in the Philippines or part of the diaspora you’ll for sure relate to it. From the characters to the scenes including the Filipino party it was like seeing a piece of our upbringing on the big screen,” Lustina said. 

Leaving doesn’t mean forgetting

Jennifer Adriatico-Westad knew she wanted to see it as soon as she learned that the story was set in the Philippines and incorporated Filipino culture and folklore. This past weekend, she caught an early screening at AMC Universal CityWalk.

“I thought it portrayed Filipino culture in a way that felt recognizable without making the culture itself feel like something that needed to be explained every few minutes. Filipino culture was simply part of the characters’ lives, which I appreciated,” she said. “For me, that also speaks about the diaspora experience. When families leave the Philippines, they don’t leave everything behind. They carry traditions, food, religion, humor, superstitions, folklore, family expectations, and even small mannerisms with them. Those things are then passed from one generation to the next. I think that experience translates across many cultures.” 

“People who leave their home countries in search of new opportunities often carry pieces of home with them. In this story, Filipino culture happens to be at the center…and it’s about time!” she said.

For Ortega, “Forgotten Island” dives even deeper than just representation. 

“Imagine there’s a part of your life that no one could ever understand…It’s not as simple as saying, ‘I feel seen when I watch this movie.’ It’s literally like my body is telling me, I belong,” Ortega said. “What is so important and impactful about this film for our community and for anyone who feels it –  there’s something about me that no one else could ever understand. This is what it is fulfilling for us. This is meant for us to feel like we belong.” 

The people and memories we carry

My family immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in the late 1950s and early 60s – first stopping in Compton, then Inglewood and eventually settling in Carson. Unlike most families, my family could not make regular annual trips back to The Philippines once they immigrated because money was tight while settling into a new life in an entirely new country. So they stayed connected with extended family by sending balikbayan boxes (filled with dry goods, gifts) usually around the holidays. However there’s a certain grief being separated by an ocean and once close relationships inevitably change. But what has kept the connections alive is remembering the family and community that continues to shape how we survive even if they are far away. That was confirmed to me when I went to the Philippines for the first time in 2008. 

Leezel Tanglao’s uncle, Oscar Guzman (far left), in front of the house he rented in Inglewood in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

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Leezel Tanglao

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As a Filipino American born in Long Beach and raised in Lancaster and Carson, I had only heard stories about my mom and my aunts and uncles growing up in this far away land. What little I knew about the Philippines came from them and the old Tagalog movies they would rent from the local Filipino grocery store. So when I went to the Philippines for the first time nearly 20 years ago, I finally understood the heavy feeling and unspoken uncertainty of not knowing when we would see each other again in person. That is what “Forgotten Island” packs and unpacks so seamlessly and reminds us. Remembering isn’t limited to holidays or when someone passes away. Memories are always alive when we care and take the time to remember.

The next time I would return to the Philippines would be more than a decade later in 2019, and this time, I was much older and wiser to not take time for granted. Some of the family members I saw back in 2008 were no longer there but their memories were as strong as if they were still alive today when we sat down to share stories. I would return two more times in 2022 and 2023 and during one of these last trips, one of my uncles had died while I was away. One of the last things my uncle Oscar had told my mom was that he couldn’t wait to hear what I ate during my time in the motherland and he was excited to just imagine all the flavors and smells of home when I returned – that’s what memories have the power to do – to unlock and transport you to another time. 

Leezel Tanglao and her uncle Oscar Guzman in Carson, California.

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Leezel Tanglao

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The LA Local

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So when the film, “Forgotten Island” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, it’s not just a celebration of Filipino culture or representation. It’s a reminder that not even distance can separate the bonds of community when memories are handled with care and also invites you to, “tayo na” (let’s go) and make more memories together.

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