It isn't easy to be me: Young Filipino-Canadians face identity crisis
Cultural identity is complicated, 3 young Winnipeggers say in new short film
What does being Filipino mean?
Is it speaking a language? Eating traditional food? Wearing certain clothes?
For three young Winnipeggers, the answers are complex and definitely not one size fits all. And it's made more complicated as a young person straddling the Filipino and Canadian sides of their lives.
"Growing up I would always be told I just don't look Filipino, that I don't look like my culture," said Carmen Acuna, an 18-year Filipina-Canadian who loves metal music and favours a more goth aesthetic in her makeup and clothes.
"People assume that I am whitewashed, or assume that I was trying to reject my culture, and I find it weird."
Acuna, along with fellow post-high students Gino Villaceran and Mark Mariano, open up about their personal struggles with identity and retaining their culture.
Those revelations are at the heart of the new, short film Being Filipino.
The film delves into the push and pull of being both Canadian and Filipino, particularly as a young person. The three students open up about the pressure to understand their culture; how they hold on to it; and what they hope to retain over time. They also talk about not acting or looking Filipino and how that has affected them.
Being Filipino is the work of Aaron Reyes, Erin Tierney and Laura Gross, three filmmaking students from the Create program at Sisler High School in Winnipeg, which offers multimedia training and experience. The three filmmakers worked in collaboration with CBC Manitoba's Creator Network.
Meet the filmmakers
More about Project POV: Sisler Create
CBC Manitoba's Project POV: Sisler Create is an ongoing storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBC journalists to produce short videos.
During fall 2022, CBC journalists led storytelling and producing workshops over several weeks with filmmaking students at the Create program at Sisler High School. Since then, nine filmmaking students have produced original videos for CBC Manitoba.
The Sisler Create program focuses on education and career pathways into the creative industries. Students can take courses in animation, film, game design, visual effects, graphic design and interactive digital media.