Help finish the Filipino Food Seattle Documentary
Donation protected
Your help is needed to complete the Filipinx Food Seattle Documentary that begun filming back in 2017.
Hello, my name is Terrence Jeffrey Santos. This photo above was captured at a Noche Buena event in December 2017 where many Chefs, Restaurant Owners and other Food professionals from our Filipinx community came together to fundraise for our Filipino Community Center. It was such an amazing sight to see all these talented individuals come together, be egoless and get work done harmoniously. Many were on their way to starting their own restaurants or adding to their existing restaurants. So many at different levels in their careers but yet all very much supportive of each other. As a filmmaker I felt compelled to start filming to document all this tremendous creativity and growth. In doing research it was revealed to me that Filipino restaurants in Seattle existed way before I was even born so there was our community's history that I wanted to explore in this film that spoke to our long history in this country.
At the time My wife and I were also restaurant owners and late 2018 my wife gave birth to our second child. I had to step away from filming to manage our restaurants. To make a long story short, we ran into financial issues and I sold all my camera equipment in an effort to keep the restaurant open. Ultimately, the internal and external challenges we were facing brought us to close our restaurants March 2020. Like so many others this past year has been a very difficult time to navigate through.
It's now 2021 and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And the call to complete this documentary has been growing louder and louder in my mind. Thinking more as to why should I finish the film it became apparent to me that a big part of its purpose was to celebrate us. To celebrate our stories. To celebrate our community.
Our food, our presence, our culture are not the latest trends. We have been here for a very long time and we have a huge opportunity to tell our own stories.
(Courtesy of filipinxfoodseattle )
(Courtesy of kryseicecream )
What does your help accomplish for this film?
The amount we ask is not small but in regards to film budgets it is also not big. It will allow us to obtain production equipment to start filming again. And the more funds we are able to gather the more stories we can tell.
Getting fully funded will also put us in a position to pay production and post production crew members who will help bring this film to a quality level that values the work, effort and excellence our community has put into the food they've created and restaurants they've built up to serve and represent us.
More specifically we are looking to afford full rates for camera operators, location sound recordist, film colorist to name a few needs.
Films benefit when the village takes on the task to see it through to the end.
What will the film be about and cover?
We are looking to cover history. As written above Filipinx restaurants have been in existence in Seattle for many decades. And so many of us are unaware of this rich history.
We want to really dive into the stories of our Chefs, Owners and Food Professionals. Documenting at the familial level to learn of the family/ancestor journey that led to the individual journey.
We also want to spotlight the dishes that are dear even pivotal to each individual/family. And as families and individuals evolve so do recipes, food philosophies and techniques making way for a beautiful range of diversity in our communities.
We will also release mini episodes on social media to assist our community real time as budgets for marketing aren't the most readily available in this challenging and ever changing pandemic environment. There is always need to bring more immediate awareness to our community of food businesses.
(@jeepneycaphill )
So..how soon do we need to be funded?
With summer just around the corner, giving us great weather to film in, our hope is to be fully funded by mid June if not sooner. A higher hope for me is to be able to surpass the amount of the ask as Seattle is not the only Filipinx Food City. If possible we want to carry the momentum to other cities to assist filmmakers there to tell those stories.
Media is starting to showcase our greater AAPI community more and more. And that's much appreciated but we need to support our own artist in a way that allows them to be the main storytellers of our community's many journeys and paths. Giving us control of our own narratives.
And so it is with a very humble heart that I offer much thanks for any and all amounts of support. Much thanks for spreading the word of our effort to complete this documentary. It means a great deal to me to put forth a film that visually and audibly represents the many beautiful layers of our Filipinx Food community.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far and your consideration of my request for help.
Hope this finds you and your families well and healthy.
Regards,
Terrence Jeffrey Santos
Regional Emmy Awardee for Cinematography (2016), The Otherside Documentary
Design Director of Video Production, UW Athletics Marketing Department (2010-2015)
@filipinxfoodseattle
@musangtinos
@anaktoykompany
@loveandpicnics
Hello, my name is Terrence Jeffrey Santos. This photo above was captured at a Noche Buena event in December 2017 where many Chefs, Restaurant Owners and other Food professionals from our Filipinx community came together to fundraise for our Filipino Community Center. It was such an amazing sight to see all these talented individuals come together, be egoless and get work done harmoniously. Many were on their way to starting their own restaurants or adding to their existing restaurants. So many at different levels in their careers but yet all very much supportive of each other. As a filmmaker I felt compelled to start filming to document all this tremendous creativity and growth. In doing research it was revealed to me that Filipino restaurants in Seattle existed way before I was even born so there was our community's history that I wanted to explore in this film that spoke to our long history in this country.
At the time My wife and I were also restaurant owners and late 2018 my wife gave birth to our second child. I had to step away from filming to manage our restaurants. To make a long story short, we ran into financial issues and I sold all my camera equipment in an effort to keep the restaurant open. Ultimately, the internal and external challenges we were facing brought us to close our restaurants March 2020. Like so many others this past year has been a very difficult time to navigate through.
It's now 2021 and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And the call to complete this documentary has been growing louder and louder in my mind. Thinking more as to why should I finish the film it became apparent to me that a big part of its purpose was to celebrate us. To celebrate our stories. To celebrate our community.
Our food, our presence, our culture are not the latest trends. We have been here for a very long time and we have a huge opportunity to tell our own stories.
(Courtesy of filipinxfoodseattle )(Courtesy of kryseicecream )What does your help accomplish for this film?
The amount we ask is not small but in regards to film budgets it is also not big. It will allow us to obtain production equipment to start filming again. And the more funds we are able to gather the more stories we can tell.
Getting fully funded will also put us in a position to pay production and post production crew members who will help bring this film to a quality level that values the work, effort and excellence our community has put into the food they've created and restaurants they've built up to serve and represent us.
More specifically we are looking to afford full rates for camera operators, location sound recordist, film colorist to name a few needs.
Films benefit when the village takes on the task to see it through to the end.
What will the film be about and cover?
We are looking to cover history. As written above Filipinx restaurants have been in existence in Seattle for many decades. And so many of us are unaware of this rich history.
We want to really dive into the stories of our Chefs, Owners and Food Professionals. Documenting at the familial level to learn of the family/ancestor journey that led to the individual journey.
We also want to spotlight the dishes that are dear even pivotal to each individual/family. And as families and individuals evolve so do recipes, food philosophies and techniques making way for a beautiful range of diversity in our communities.
We will also release mini episodes on social media to assist our community real time as budgets for marketing aren't the most readily available in this challenging and ever changing pandemic environment. There is always need to bring more immediate awareness to our community of food businesses.
(@jeepneycaphill )So..how soon do we need to be funded?
With summer just around the corner, giving us great weather to film in, our hope is to be fully funded by mid June if not sooner. A higher hope for me is to be able to surpass the amount of the ask as Seattle is not the only Filipinx Food City. If possible we want to carry the momentum to other cities to assist filmmakers there to tell those stories.
Media is starting to showcase our greater AAPI community more and more. And that's much appreciated but we need to support our own artist in a way that allows them to be the main storytellers of our community's many journeys and paths. Giving us control of our own narratives.
And so it is with a very humble heart that I offer much thanks for any and all amounts of support. Much thanks for spreading the word of our effort to complete this documentary. It means a great deal to me to put forth a film that visually and audibly represents the many beautiful layers of our Filipinx Food community.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far and your consideration of my request for help.
Hope this finds you and your families well and healthy.
Regards,
Terrence Jeffrey Santos
Regional Emmy Awardee for Cinematography (2016), The Otherside Documentary
Design Director of Video Production, UW Athletics Marketing Department (2010-2015)
@filipinxfoodseattle
@musangtinos
@anaktoykompany
@loveandpicnics
Organizer
Terrence Santos
Organizer
Kent, WA