For the first time since she was young, 18-year-old Mimi DeLa Cruz returns to O'ahu for her grandmother's memorial service. Once there, she can't seem to find her footing, acting like an ignorant tourist and unmoved by the Filipino culture and community that surrounds her. When preparing her grandmother's house to be sold, she finds a cardboard box full of ornate plates addressed to her grandmother's friend, Gabriela. Reluctantly, Mimi embarks on a journey across the island to deliver the box, racing against the clock to make her return flight to California. Throughout her journey, she is haunted by the eerie apparition of her grandmother. She meets Filipino elders who bring the memory of her grandmother to life and whose stories about Filipino identity turn her worldview upside down, opening her eyes to the cultural history she had previously rejected.

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Director - Reina Gabriela Bonta

As a third-generation Filipino-American, my own lola, the matriarch of my family who I’ve lived with my entire life, is the grounding force that ties to my cultural identity. Through LAHI, I explore the question: what happens when this force no longer exists? This project points a finger to each of our own fears and insecurities about our unique connections to our culture. At the same time, LAHI centers the process of connecting back to one’s ancestors as both a healing force and form of activism which combats the forces of settler colonialism that attempt to erase our histories.