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Rafael Manuel’s debut film, FILIPIÑANA, has been one of the most discussed Philippine films in many years. The visually compelling film quietly (and loudly) interrogates the power dynamics in Philippine society through a normal day at a posh golf course outside of Manila. FILIPIÑANA hits so many issues – classism, racism, colonialism, sexism, regionalism, and...

Tibak, is a slang term for “aktibista.” Over the decades, there are more and more Filipino Americans working towards social justice as inequality rises throughout the world. How do Filipino Americans begin to become activists in the first place? Why should we in the diaspora care about what’s going on in the Philippines? How do...

Putang ina!!!!! Alex Eala has taken the Tennis world by storm! Over the last year, Alexandra “Alex” Eala has been a sports and popular cultural phenomenon. The 21-year-old Filipino tennis star has sparked an unprecedented wave of national pride and a domestic sports boom for Philippine tennis.  In this TFAL episode, Gerlie, Ryan (out of...

In this episode of the pod, Elaine and Kat have a kikihan (kiki + kwentuhan) with Mark Kaiklian of By and By. Mark is a talented graphic designer, artist, performer, and all around good human who shares his journey with us. We learn about his origin story from Tondo, Philippines to Eagle Rock, CA and...

We all have them in our lives. Friends and family who are not Filipino but sometimes we call “Honorary Filipinos.” But does anyone really deserve such a title? Does it become an invitation for more privileged folks to begin Filipino-splaining us and/or become culture vultures? Is this title that we should even dole out? In...

Sometimes, you just have to chase your dream, damnit. For Bernard Badion, telling stories was always an integral part of him and has been a life-long pursuit. Growing up in Sunnyvale, California, the acclaimed Filipino American creator longed to tell stories that people can relate to. And in so many ways, he has already written,...

Is hopia a dessert? What started out as a random argument Elaine and Producer Mike had snowballed into a whole TFAL mini-episode about random Filipino food questions. Listen as the TFAL crew discuss and debate questions like: What is the most overrated Filipino dish? The most underrated? Do you f-ck with Filipino fruit salad? Why...

If you are into comic books, then you must absolutely know Hot Tropiks, the leading distributor of Filipino comics and children’s literature in the United States. The owner and co-founder, Angelo Mendez, together with his wife, Nadine, began Hot Tropiks to bring the bold, imaginative stories of comics to a global audience. In this TFAL...

Today’s the day! “Eraserheads: Combo on the Run” is releasing throughout North America across over 60 screens, one of the biggest and widest releases of a Filipino documentary ever.  And while the exploits of the band are well detailed in the film itself, we thought it would be worthwhile to sit down with Director Diane Ventura...

In the 3rd edition of our Eraserheads-themed mini-series, Les the DJ and Producer Mike reminisce about road trips to the tune of “Overdrive”, and can’t get enough of silly love songs like “Ligaya”.  But what songs are Les and Mike listening to now?  Listen and find out! As a reminder, on April 24th, Combo On...

In part 2 of our mini-series “Original Pilipino Musings” with Les the DJ, we dive into two seminal Eraserheads classics, “Toyang” from their 1993 debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop!, as well as “Alapaap” from their 1994 follow-up, Circus.  Listen as we talk about what the songs mean to us, and debate whether or not it matters if...

In a few weeks, Combo On The Run, a documentary chronicling the rise of the band Eraserheads, is set to hit movie screens across North America.  It’s not often that a film from the Philippines gets a release and a reception as high profile as this film has been getting, let alone a documentary about...

Here Lies Love, the play about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos as the Philippine dictator’s wife during Martial Law is now playing in Los Angeles. The TFAL crew had the opportunity to watch Here Lies Love when it first opened at the Mark Taper Forum a couple of weeks ago. Love it or...

For 10 years, TFAL has been trying to amplify voices from our community, but particular voices from sectors of our community that have been historically overlooked. We are especially attuned to the voices without glitz and glamor, without state-sanctioned narratives, and without algorithmic egos. For our 250th episode, and on the heels of the 40th...

Have you ever dreamed about a TV show with an all-Filipino American cast? What kind of show it would be? Who would star in it? In this TFAL episode, Elaine, Joe, and Producer Mike dream up their ideal TV show by playing The Fil Am Celebrity Draft! Adapted from a game that Joe used to...