Do you want to help us tell the story of Hanggang Sa Muli and help us graduate in the meantime? Take a look at our project below.
My name is Jacob Alcala and this year I am graduating from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam as a filmmaker. Together with my amazing, international crew, I’ve reworked my personal story into a short fiction film of
Do you want to help us tell the story of Hanggang Sa Muli and help us graduate in the meantime? Take a look at our project below.
My name is Jacob Alcala and this year I am graduating from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam as a filmmaker. Together with my amazing, international crew, I’ve reworked my personal story into a short fiction film of around 20 minutes! Take a look at the video above or on our Instagram @hanggang.sa.muli. DONATE NOW!
THE STORY
A Manila night bears witness to the fleeting connection of two young people: Poy, a melancholic second-gen migrant, and Shirley, an exhausted local. It is Poy’s last day in the Philippines before yet another move somewhere far. Feeling disoriented by his fragmented upbringing as the son of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), he runs away and immerses himself in the city he yearns for, where his chance meeting with Shirley leads to a temporary escape into the night.
In English,“Hanggang Sa Muli” means “Until Then”.

MOTIVATION
I was ten years old when I was uprooted from my home country, the Philippines. My parents had decided to move us to the Middle East as a way to open us up to a world of opportunities, as well as to financially support our relatives back home. Little did I know, this decision would change the trajectory of my life forever.
Emigrating to foreign lands is a common narrative within Filipino families, as many of us are diasporic. It is an alienating feeling, this uprooting from all things familiar. Having to follow a decision that you had no say in. A feeling of disorientation manifests from this displacement–I know this because I’ve lived it.
My name is Jacob Alcala, I am a person of multiple origins but belonging to nowhere. I am the son of migrants.
With “Hanggang Sa Muli”, I wish to depict this embodied experience of my constant search for belonging. This feeling is more universal than I thought. For young people especially, the pressure of having your whole life ahead of you and having to make something out of it; of having to establish an identity and find meaning in something bigger than yourself creates a generation plagued with a crisis for direction.
The Netherlands has a centuries-old history of (im)migration. In 2021 alone, for example, more than 250.000 people (im)migrated. In both temporary residence and permanent relocation, (im)migrants struggle to feel at home in an environment that can be foreign at best and hostile at worst.
Feeling out of place leads to a crisis of belonging, of feeling untethered to any community. This feeling is intensified in young people, who tend to have less autonomy than their elders. Second-generation (im)migrants often feel stuck in a liminal space between their parents' country of origin and their current country of residence. Young internationals who choose to leave home to seek better opportunities, discover themselves at the margins of a culture foreign to them.
Through exploring this feeling of disorientation, we hope to depict a story that brings comfort and reassurance to all young people who feel lost—that they have the autonomy to live their lives on their own terms, regardless of origin or destination.
WHO ARE WE
JACOB ALCALA (DIRECTOR)
Jacob (he/him) is a Filipino-born, UAE-raised, and Netherlands-based director and cinematographer. He is in his final year at the Audiovisual Design department at the Willem de Kooning Academy, where he will be graduating as a filmmaker. His work is inspired by his ongoing exploration of the self, and he strives to portray these stories through authentic images with meticulous attention to detail.
HONEY SIMATUPANG (SCREENWRITER)
Honey (she/they) is an Indonesian-born, Rotterdam-based writer and image maker, and a recent graduate of the Willem de Kooning Academy. Theoretically informed and rooted in the humanities, she wishes to highlight underrepresented narratives in her work.
And they will be joined by an international co-production of talented young creatives based in the Netherlands and in the Philippines. Our Dutch crew will be working from the Netherlands in pre and post-production, and our production in the Philippines will be realized with the help of ARCHIPELAGO, an independent production house headed by award-winning producers Gale Osorio and Keith Deligero.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Help us realize our vision! Your donations would go to funding our travel arrangements, compensating our crew, renting professional filming equipment, and more.
LET'S GET IN TOUCH!
Want to know more about our film? Feel free to reach out to us via the platforms below:
instagram.com/hanggang.sa.muli
Facebook Hanggang Sa Muli
Or you could drop the director a message via:
[email protected]
instagram.com/jnsalcala
vimeo.com/jnsalcala
linkedin.com/in/jnsalcala
TEASER VIDEO CREDITS
Director & Producer - Sibrich Wijnia
Director of Photography - Kick Hoogewerf
Cast - Jacob Alcala & Honey Simatupang
Composer - Loudrie Lolarga
Sound Operator - Peter Cutajar
Gaffer - Arturo Navarro
Additional footage - Ivan Pasia
Production Assistant - Davida Hoddenbagh
Nieuwste donaties

Jose Mari Martinez
13-04-2023 02:06Supporting film makers convey their story through film

Angela
12-04-2023 15:57Good luck Jacob and the team! 💪🏻

Spyros
12-04-2023 10:26Good luck Jacob, you've got this!