18-year old high school student Nico is in love with three things: New York, music, and his best friend, Jonathan. But nobody knows about that last part.
THE FILM BEGINS on the night of his senior prom—which he fully intends to miss out on. But Nico’s plans of staying in are interrupted when he receives a text from Jonathan, who’s had a little too much alcohol than he could handle. Nico naturally comes to his rescue and decides that Jonathan should sober up before going home. And so, the boys go on a late-night drive around the city, where Jonathan drunkenly spills a big secret, causing Nico to deeply consider if he should reveal his.
Homebound is a short film dedicated to the search for home—whether it’s a place, a thing, or even a person—lensed through the eyes of a young gay Filipino immigrant living in Jersey City.
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Behind the film
ANJELICA FLORENDO (Co-Director | Producer) moved to the US in 2017 to pursue her dreams of making it big in the film and advertising industry. The bulk of her work has been directed to crafting stories—throughout her career, she has served as a digital strategist, and a multi-media content producer in both the private and public sector. She is also a filmmaker, independent musician, and performing artist. She currently works as a Post-Production Manager, and has worked on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch, Pantene, and L’Oreal.
MARTIN DIEGOR (Co-Director | Writer) immigrated to the US with his mom in 2016. Before leaving, he worked as a designer and art director for a local youth magazine called Scout, which helped him in his first job in New York art directing for Kworq, a boutique digital content agency. He now works at Laird + Partners, an advertising firm focusing on luxury, fashion, and lifestyle, and has worked on projects with Swarovski, Tiffany & Co., Salvatore Ferragamo, Vera Wang, and Tommy Hilfiger.
We first met at a music gig in Manila and became acquaintances. After finding out that we’re both in New York, we caught up at a Vietnamese bar in SoHo and bonded over wine and pho, talking endlessly about our dreams and ambitions. The rest, as they say, is history.
Our experiences as Filipino immigrants in America have always revolved around the idea of home—whether it’s longing for the one you left, searching for it in a foreign land, or finding it in the welcome of newfound friends—which led us to the story of Nico and Jonathan, two friends who found home in one another, whose secrets might affect the future of their friendship.
But Homebound is not a love story—it’s our love letter to friendship.
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Why do we want to make this film?
In 2016, there are roughly 1.9 million Filipinos in the US (migrationpolicy.org, 2018) and yet our stories are hard to come by in the media. This short film aims to tackle the issues of uprooting and settling in a new country, the cultural differences between US-born and Philippine-born Filipinos, and the modern layers of identity, love, family, and friendship.
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Where will the money go?
Our goal is to produce Homebound in the same production quality as the shows and movies that you’ve loved and enjoyed before. Think along the lines of Perks of Being A Wallflower or even the recent Netflix hit To All The Boys I Loved Before.
To do this, your contributions will go to:
- Camera, light, and sound equipment rental
- Talent fees for cast and crew
- Location permits
- Post-production
- Marketing and screening the film
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Risks & Challenges
A possible delay in production is unavoidable if we don’t get enough funds to shoot within late October to early November. The film happens on prom night, which generally happens in between the months of March and June. And because a majority of the film will be shot outdoors, it may not be a good idea to subject our actors and actresses to cold Fall winds in prom dresses and swanky PJs.
We have managed to lock down a talented and versatile team, and in the small amount of time that we’ve been here, we have built a network of extremely talented creatives from all sorts of backgrounds that we can tap, for any production needs.
But we want this film to happen. It’s a long overdue story we both have been working on since 2017, so we are determined to overcome any obstacle that comes our way, despite delay.
Other ways to help
Rally with us! Talk to your friends about our film, share this campaign, and help us get people excited.
If you're looking to join the team, please check out our Instagram @homeboundmovie for more details.
