Thuy’s latest release narrates the painful and unfortunate side of womanhood that some experience. “Playing Tricks” comes with an accompanying music video that tells the story of a young mother-to-be who unexpectedly loses her child. Thuy shared her sentiments on the song’s themes in a statement: “Sometimes, your mind can play tricks on your heart and get in the way of something special, but this song is a reminder to believe in love and what’s real.”
The track’s YouTube page also shares a powerful message: ““playing tricks” highlights the story of a young woman and her journey as an expecting mother. touching on relationships, womanhood, and family, the short film shines a light on the painful journey a young couple must work through all while displaying the strength of women within the family dynamic.
Watch the short film/music video below.
The Oakland native, Guapdad 4000 is getting ready to drop a short film in collaboration with 88Rising and Amazon Music. STOOP KID debuts on July 21st and focuses on GUAP's life growing up in the Bay Area and as a multiracial person. This coming of age story follows Akeem 'GUAP' Hayes as he navigates a complex upbringing while also showcasing his talent for music.
The trailer includes GUAP talking about his Filipino and Black background where not everyone accepted him as a person of mixed races. GUAP also talks about the relationship he has with family members and how he was a kid trying to help raise other kids.
Featured in the short film will be music from his album, 1176 which was produced by Grammy-winning producer and Fil-Am Illmind. The album is named after GUAP's childhood home address and sets the tone for this story of a Black-Filipino artist who explores his identity, family, and community.
Cover Photo Credit: Guapdad 4000 Twitter
Toro y Moi’s Mahal album rollout is starting to heat up. With the album set to drop on April 29th, the chillwave artist has been prepping fans with music videos. Now, he has a new treat for fans in the form of a short film.
Chaz Bear took to his Instagram to announce GOES BY SO FAST: A MAHAL FILM, a collaboration co-starring comedian/actor Eric André. The film will world premiere on April 22nd at Braindeadstudios in Los Angeles. Fans interested in attending the event can purchase tickets here.
Stay tuned for more news on Toro y Moi and his Mahal album!
Cover Photo Courtesy of Toro y Moi Instagram
The 37th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival just happened, and some amazing stories were shared at the hybrid in-person and virtual event this year. The festival featured a short program section called "Kuwentuhan," which featured Apple Original Film and Skydance Animation's first short film, "Blush." The animated short was directed by Emmy-winning animator Joe Mateo. The short made an earlier appearance at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.
ABS-CBN Reporter and new Hollywood Foreign Press Association member Yong Chavez recently had the chance to sit down with Joe who revealed the inspiration behind this animated short. "Blush" was inspired by Joe's late wife Mary Ann. He recalls meeting her for the first time in college and remembers her blushing right after he introduced himself.
"Our first week of college... I just heard this laughter that's filling up the room. I said, 'Hi!.' As soon as I introduced myself, she turned. She blushed."
Joe Mateo
Devastated by Mary Ann's passing, Joe began writing "Blush" half a year after she passed on. Certain scenes in the movie are based on the emotions and realizations Joe went through during this time. You can now catch "Blush" streaming on Apple TV+.
Cover Photo Courtesy of Apple TV+
"What you plant, you harvest." A narration from the documentary, Lolo. A short film created by choreographers Keone and Mari Madrid follows Keone's Lolo Arturo Madrid. Arturo Madrid is a a 76 year old Filipino-American man, who reminisces on the hardships, wonders and reality of migrating from the Philippines to the United States. Lolo is being rolled out publicly beginning with the trailer and the film release on August 23rd on Lolo Arturo's birthday. Follow Keone and Mari's channel to keep up on when to watch the short film.
Keone shares his grandfather's immigrant story and journey to a new country. The short film has won 15 awards and been recognized at various film festivals. What started as documenting family origin stores for his daughter turned into an important project appreciating "it's time we share our stories." Passing these experiences on to other generations are important to keep our culture alive and growing.
From Keone Madrid:
"Telling our grandfather's story of coming from a different life in the Philippines to an American one may be, at least to us, the most important thing we may ever document on film. Of course for personal reasons, but also to know there are 2+ million Filipino-Americans and 44+ million immigrant-Americans who will see a story they have similarly lived, on screen. Something very rare and often unseen in American cinema. Especially when Asian voices have often been limited to caricatures and a call to hearing our stories has been brought to the forefront."
Cover Photo Credit: FilmFreeway
Disney+ finally made available to stream the animated Disney short Us Again. From the start, the audience can feel that this short is special. There was a sense of hope and joy in this short that we've been missing for the past year. It's more than just about dance, it's about taking the time to do what you enjoy doing.
Keone Madrid, a Filipino choregrapher is responsible for the movement of the characters Art and Dot, an elderly couple who rediscover the joy of dance and that youth is only a state of mind. As we grow older, we get caught up in "adulting" and sometimes forget about what makes us happy. Keone chorographed the routine alongside his wife Mari Madrid which made it all feel so authentic. In this rehearsal footage, you see the beginnings of the choreo beside the final product.
"To stay present despite what’s around you. That youth is just a state of mind."
KEONE MADRID ON "US AGAIN"
Keone writes how he was in awe of the process: "Watching them [Art and Dot] dance our choreography fills me with so much joy, emotion, hope and inspiration (and some jealousy because the they do the moves way better than us). Then I’m simultaneously mind blown that the animators animated our choreography by hand..." He's reminded of all the times when dance was a normalized to a non-sensical career path, but believed that dance was more than just a hobby. Dance is a universal language that brings people together which Us Again reminded him.
Cover Photo Credit: Disney Animation Twitter
Yeek a multitalented artist, filmmaker, and musician originally from New Jersey, but calls South Florida home. Now LA-based, he still looks to bring the southwest flavor to the West Coast. With an imaginative sound and influences from 90s culture, the album, Valencia pulls out all the stops.
First off, the track MH passes the SoundCloud vibe check. The contemporary R&B track with the catchy line will have you hooked:
Te extrano quando te vas no
She hit me with mahal kita
According to The Parté.com, the album looks at topics like relationships and family. There's the Filipino influence in his lyrics which blends so easily in the song. However, you also hear it in his sound. We know Filipinos love their ballads, but with that comes the love for R&B. Yeek gravitated towards this sound because of the karaoke family parties that blasted classic R&B records. "R&B music is a deeply-rooted part of Filipino-American culture."
A creative of his own from mixing, to producing, and mastering music himself, Yeek a one stop shop artist. However collaboration is still important to Yeek whether working with other artists or taking inspiration from places he traveled. Last year, he worked with London-based artist Bakar. Eager to put out music, in a recent Complex Interview he talked about not wanting to wait and rely on others to produce final cuts. So he that's how he became his own producer, mixer, and director. The accompanying short film for the album, h.a.w.a.i.i. is a self reflection of his hopeful younger days.
Also, Yeek talks about being a Filipino-American living in South Florida. Going from a community with a heavy Filipino population to being the only Asian in Naples, Florida was a culture shock.
"I was the only Filipino-American in my school. Anywhere I went in the whole town, I felt like I was the only Asian. It was crazy moving from Jersey where there were a lot, it was a big transition. I moved when I was nine or ten."
But Yeek still calls Florida home and he's ready to put it on the map. Check out the rest of the tracks on Valencia below!
Valencia Tracklisting:
1. Lumbago
2. Overthinking
3. 3000 Miles (Baby, Baby)
4. Back N Forth
5. M.H
6. ETA
7. Valencia
8. This Time
9. Watch Me
10. Dirty Pillow
