Balikbayan Box - A Short Film

 

"Balikbayan Box" is a short film written by Eldridge Balmaceda and directed by Karl Justin Martin. The story is loosely (and I mean very loosely) based on a song by the same name by the Eraserheads, a famous band here in the Philippines during the 90's and early 2000's. It follows Eddy, and overseas filipino worker who hadn't been home for 10 years. He sends a repatriate box to his family back in the Philippines.

 

As stated above, the story is loosely based on a song. The writer, Eldridge, is heavily influenced by the band. This was also loosely based on his experience as a son of an overseas worker who hadn't been home for a long time. The script was originally written as final requirement for out scriptwriting class. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we took up AB Mass Communication at New Era University.

 

Funny thing about this production is that we didn't have much money nor gear to work with. We had roughly 7000 pesos for our budget (roughly 155 USD) and most of everything went to transportation and food for the cast and crew. As an award winning independent film maker once said "Short films are made not with money. They're made with tenacity and lots of favors." 

 

We had less than a month from pre-production to post-production to get it in time for the first film festival that we were going to enter with this film. I would like to thank everyone who made this film possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

 

- Karl Justin Martin