Give as a gift
This film block contains both documentaries and narratives all centered on finding a stronger sense of belonging through community and kinships. Many of these films center on the importance of building and maintaining bonds in their examination of the dynamics of diasporic Asian American identity.
This screening features 8 films. Toggle between film descriptions by scrolling and clicking on the buttons on the top right.
An Oakland based Bisaya tattoo artist rediscovers and unlocks indigenous Filipino histories through ink.
Director Biography - Julia Husain Nacario
JULIA NACARIO (they/siya, she) is a Bay Area based and Cebuano filmmaker invested in the cultural revitalization of Pilipinx communities through a decolonized framework. They were accepted by Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project - QWOCMAP as a Film and Freedom Academy fellow in 2023 and has worked in film spaces across the East Coast and Bay Area as a 1st Assistant Camera since 2018. Her work has been showcased at the International Queer Women of Color Film Festival, DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, and Queer East in London, UK. Outside of film festival programming, Julia enjoys kickboxing and studying Filipino martial arts.
Director Statement
My film follows Oakland-based tattoo artist La'on Canabe in their journey to reclaim Indigenous Visayan history through ink. In pre-colonial Philippines, tattooing was an integral part of self-identification and status amongst the Visayan people. Today, 500 years after the Spanish colonized what they dubbed “Las Islas de los Pintados”, many Filipinos have lost touch with this prolific tattoo tradition of nearly 4,000 years. "Painted Ones" sets out to explore modern ways Visayan people and their descendants can recover their roots with authenticity, learning, and care against a history of cultural erasure.
This film block contains both documentaries and narratives all centered on finding a stronger sense of belonging through community and kinships. Many of these films center on the importance of building and maintaining bonds in their examination of the dynamics of diasporic Asian American identity.
This screening features 8 films. Toggle between film descriptions by scrolling and clicking on the buttons on the top right.
An Oakland based Bisaya tattoo artist rediscovers and unlocks indigenous Filipino histories through ink.
Director Biography - Julia Husain Nacario
JULIA NACARIO (they/siya, she) is a Bay Area based and Cebuano filmmaker invested in the cultural revitalization of Pilipinx communities through a decolonized framework. They were accepted by Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project - QWOCMAP as a Film and Freedom Academy fellow in 2023 and has worked in film spaces across the East Coast and Bay Area as a 1st Assistant Camera since 2018. Her work has been showcased at the International Queer Women of Color Film Festival, DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, and Queer East in London, UK. Outside of film festival programming, Julia enjoys kickboxing and studying Filipino martial arts.
Director Statement
My film follows Oakland-based tattoo artist La'on Canabe in their journey to reclaim Indigenous Visayan history through ink. In pre-colonial Philippines, tattooing was an integral part of self-identification and status amongst the Visayan people. Today, 500 years after the Spanish colonized what they dubbed “Las Islas de los Pintados”, many Filipinos have lost touch with this prolific tattoo tradition of nearly 4,000 years. "Painted Ones" sets out to explore modern ways Visayan people and their descendants can recover their roots with authenticity, learning, and care against a history of cultural erasure.
