What happens when three teenage cousins “drive to the store”, before Thanksgiving dinner? They blast music in the car, gossip and come back with red eyes! Writer/director Kayla Abuda Galang (Learning Tagalog With Kayla) is back on S/W with her latestfilm When You Left Me on That Boulevard. Full of nostalgia, humor, and warm feelings, this slice-of-life short is an immersive trip into a family meal that leaves us just happy to have been invited.
“It kind of clicked with me that I actually missed these parties I dreaded going to”
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When You Left Me on That Boulevard portrays the quintessential teenage experience of attending a family meal – lots of food, aunties together in one room, uncles in another and the kids chilling in front of the TV. So it came as no surprise to learn that the film draws inspiration from the director’s personal life, with Galang’s creative spark ignited during a visit to her hometown in 2019. The director explains that it was at this family gathering, with all “the familiar trappings of parties I grew up going to: lots of idling around; answering prying questions about love, life, and work; and eating plates of food”, when she realized that it had been over ten years that she had seen all her aunties together in that space. As she “watched them sing and dance and cackle and chatter”, it suddenly dawned on her that she “actually missed these parties” and felt inspired to capture the feeling of one such event on screen.
The film serves as a reminiscent journey into moments we often overlook, only to reflect on them later with a sense of warmth and fondness. Galang might romanticize that experience by appealing to our own nostalgia (she does open the film with a shot of a Motorola Razr) and through the affectionate lens which she portrays her community, but there is plenty of comedy in her short. This humor is particularly evident in the film’s conclusion, which effectively captures the comedic nuances of teenage drama and underscores the idea that the appreciation for such gatherings is often lost on individuals of that age. With teenage angst palpable throughout the film, the soundtrack works to add another layer of comedy to the experience.
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The film’s 13-minute runtime unfolds without any real drama, offering instead a delightful invitation to this Thanksgiving meal. The gathering, though a bit chaotic due to the amount of guests and their different personalities, manages to entertain by allowing us to get to know some of the characters – although the addition of the karaoke machine certainly helps. However, what struck me most about When You Left Me on That Boulevard was just how authentic it all felt. Shot in her aunt’s home and featuring a cast and crew comprising of childhood friends and residents from the Paradise Hills community definitely contributes to that genuine dimension. The task of creating such a bustling environment on screen is not an easy one and so props need to be given to the DP Rajinee Buquing who captured it perfectly. I also love the mix of Tagalog and English in the dialogue, and that Galang didn’t feel the need to translate it, because ultimately it’s about the general vibe and given how high Ly is, you have to question whether she can even follow the discussion?
Aiming to capture the reality she grew up in, Galang’s desire was to bring her “emotional memory” to screen, explaining that she wanted to depict such a gathering “without satire or farce”, something she had seen “all too often in popular portrayals of my culture”. As is often the case with films that are more atmospheric than plot driven, the cast does a lot of the heavy lifting. Every single actor, down to the kids who are just running around the frame, does an excellent job of crafting the family dynamic. However, it’s Kailyn Dulay, as moody teenager Ly, who anchors the film, along with Elle Rodriguez, cast as the entertaining aunt with a knack of asking prying questions, while still being the life of the party. These performances in particular highlighting the film’s effectiveness at balancing the comedy of the script, with its emotional weight.
When You Left Me on That Boulevard had an impressive festival run that started at the 2023 edition of Sundance, where it was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize, making it eligible for Oscar consideration, and currently FYC. That award was followed by many other festival selections including SXSW, where it also won an award, Regard, Aspen and Palm Springs. Galang is currently developing ’06-’07, the feature that Boulevard is lifted from that she describes as “a suburban high-stakes love story in mid-2000s Paradise Hills”. She is also writing another feature titled On Earth As it is In Heaven and a new short film.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHEN
