Category: Reflections
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Christopher Nolan as a Third Culture Kid Filmmaker – my personal take
We all know he’s the Batman guy, the Oppenheimer and Interstellar guy. But as someone who grew up in three countries, I found that his films are very close to what a third culture kid’s experience would be… and that helped me understand my own.
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City of Stars
Hollywood 2019. in the sweltering heat of LA, my family went out to this area for a couple of days in August. I was almost 19 and about to enter university in a few weeks back in Armenia, and I had no clear idea what I wanted to pursue after graduation. Then we met a…
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My favorite films in 2025: Films that heal
Better late than never… Took me a while to finish because of my master’s thesis and other life stuff. Well, let’s get right to it!
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To the people who can’t go to the World Con
If you weren’t able to go to the World Con because of the whole flight fiasco following the war in the Middle East, schedule conflicts, a family emergency, or some other reason, here’s something I wrote that I hope will give you some encouragement. Today, my siblings and I missed the Arrows PK meeting (I’m…
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How a fictional character helped me cope with perfectionism and social anxiety
An android who couldn’t feel emotions taught me how to stop overthinking mine. It started at a university workshop on perfectionism several years ago, where I was taught to recognize the specific ways it’s been damaging me and that I needed to put a stop to certain mindsets and behaviors I had. Part of what…
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The Fears of Filmmaking & Pursuing a Creative Life
I’ve been pondering about the push-and-pull of what it means to be a creative. Especially being someone from a third world country. Or maybe it touches everyone in general. Here’s my journey so far… I have been invited by God to live a life of creativity. But there’s always been something holding me back from…
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Thoughts on “A Quiet Place: Day One” as an earthquake survivor, relief volunteer, TCK… (Spoilers)
“A Quiet Place: Day One” is the type of restrained, slower cinema and drama that I find lovely to watch, even if I’m not into thrillers/horror films, because of all its layers and beautiful themes. It reminded me of when I was an earthquake relief volunteer in Nepal, and resonated with me as a poet…
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“Can You Hear the Music?”: How Contemporary Movies Use Film Music as a Narrative Tool
Music in contemporary motion pictures remains a highlight for casual filmgoers – with many people recognizing themes from popular franchises like Marvel and Lord of the Rings, and others creating playlists of their favorite film music on Spotify or Youtube. However, considered on a more scholarly approach, film music often acts as a driver for…
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The labyrinth of life and death: Filipino tragedies and how I overcame insomnia during COVID
Just two Sundays ago, an overseas Filipino community in Vancouver, Canada was having a Filipino cultural festival and celebration (the Lapu-Lapu Festival named after our hero), when a speeding SUV rammed into the crowd at the foodstalls and killed 11 people, including a 5-year-old girl. On May 1, in Tarlac, Philippines, 10 people were killed…
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On watching movies in the theatre
At film school last semester, I became attuned to the importance of the debate whether movie theatres will still exist or not in the future, and how it’s important to still watch movies in the theatre. (I guess the first time I heard about this debate was in 2021, through my Intro to Filmmaking class,…