Cultural Kultivators - Sondy Lucille

Kicking off Filipino History Month (FAHM), we’re honored to spotlight the storytelling journey of documentary filmmaker and video editor, Sondy Lucille! Sondy’s work captures the power of oral and visual storytelling, as well as cultural preservation. With a keen eye for detail and determination to shift the painful narratives embedded in our history, Sondy’s films delve into mixed heritage, Asian diasporic experiences, and how globalization molds identity in multicultural homes and communities.

Sondy reflects on her dual heritage as Filipino and Mauritian which has fueled her desire to research her family histories and find solidarity in the shared struggles of Filipino Americans. Dear Watsonville – Sondy’s most recent project touring the festival circuit – sheds light on the untold stories and memories of the Manong/Manang generation with a  distinct focus on Watsonville, California—a place often remembered for the violence and racism towards Fil-Ams. By weaving together family photo albums, hand drawn illustrations, and oral histories, her work seeks to preserve the experiences of first-generation Fil-Am immigrants through the memories of their second generation descendants.

She encourages filmmakers to embrace imperfection and to “free yourself from the shackles of filmmaking rules” — in order to approach filming as a form of self-expression. Sondy also emphasizes the importance of film fellowships for Asian-American and BIPOC filmmakers and recommends “creating your own experience” by using unconventional, experimental spaces to gain valuable production and post-production expertise. She also challenges listeners to be curious and to look into their family histories and documents, as a means to recognize the power of storytelling of our shared heritage.

Follow her journey on Instagram @sondy.lu and @dearwatsonville and on the web at sondylu.com. The Watsonville is in the Heart digital archive can be viewed at wiith.ucsc.edu and on Instagram at @wiith.ucsc Catch a screening of Dear Watsonville at the SF Indie Fest coming this October 17th - 27th! 

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BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.

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