With the San Diego International Film Festival in full swing, one of the shorts that caught my eye was DIWA. The story about an immigrant from the Philippines and her struggles when she’s the victim of a violent crime is a very topical theme with what is going on in the US right now.

Title: Diwa
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Aina Dumlao, Bru Muller
Starring: Aina Dumlao, Leslie Thurston, Maria Pallas
Runtime: 18 mins

What It Is: Diwa Sanchez (Dumlao) is an undocumented worker from the Philippines. Here not for the fame and fortune America offers but instead to make money. Enough to live here and send a little back home. A home where that little bit of money means a lot. When she’s sexually assaulted she must make the choice to report it and risk deportation or stay a silent victim

What We Think: It’s all a bit on the nose, but the story told is one that’s too often told on this current climate. Diwa’s despair is also all too relatable to the world’s woman. That powerlessness that no one cares about you or your situation. Victim shaming, racism all are presented here in a very REAL example. 

Our Grade: B-, A solid offering once again from the San Diego International Film Festival. Below you’ll find a thank you to the filmmakers for their time, more info on how to view the film as well as our man on the move Dan Berry’s interview with the directors Bru Muller and his counterpart who also stars as Diwa, Aina Dumlao. Check this one out and let’s root for the feature-length version!

We’d like to thank both Aina and Bru for giving us a few minutes of their time before the Festival began, and to congratulate them on their recent Award of Excellence – US Short Film – “Diwa” at the Catalina Film Festival. 

You can find out more information on the movie at their website https://www.mynameisdiwa.com/ as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.