Join us for a screening of Cleaners by director Glenn VBarit.

Make it stand out

Synopsis:

“Cleaners” follows a group of high school students in the Cagayan province town of Tuguegarao in the Philippines. Each student tries to fit in — or break out — under the weight of expectations by their Catholic school and small town, all under the weight of the awkwardness of coming of age. The film is a showcase of Filipino creativity: each frame was printed, marked up with highlighters, then scanned, giving it a raw and handmade feel. And none of the actors are professional. It’s messy perfection in all the right ways.

Programmer Statement:

Watching “Cleaners” feels like seeing what my story would have looked like if I never immigrated from the Philippines at 6 years old. Even though we left when I was young, I never quite shrugged off the pressure to be “clean,” proper and “pakikisama,” or the inherent understanding embedded in us from nursery school that you shouldn’t strive to stand out. The characters in “Cleaners” are going through it: rebelling, hiding and hoping someone sees them for who they are. The film is chaotic. It’s raw. But it’s weirdly beautiful and shows that you don’t have to leave your homeland to feel like you’re growing up in between places.

Enjoy Cleaners.

• Shayne Nuesca
  
  Shayne Nuesca is an Ilocana storyteller from San Fernando, La Union, Philippines and was raised in Anchorage. She’s the founder and principal of Bylign, a content studio helping organizations weave inclusion into their strategies. She’s also building Kadua, an upcoming social enterprise that aims to support artisans in her home province through fair trade and cultural exchange. A co-founder of Mana, her work centers cultural preservation, care and community across everything she creates.
  

Light refreshments will be provided. An opportunity for Q&A will follow afterwards.
This event is free and open to the public.