Salem Film Festival Featuring Two Emerson Student Films

This year, two MFA students will premiere their deeply personal documentaries at the Salem Film Festival.

Carlo Ang’s film, Lola, is about his grandmother, and her previously untold stories about surviving World War II in the Philippines. Through multiple conversations, Ang recorded his nonagenarian lola, which means grandmother in Tagalog. Through this exploration, Ang discovers his family history and why some stories were kept hidden.

“She told me stories I had never heard before — of World War II and the violent invasion and occupation of her hometown by Japanese soldiers,” said Ang, MFA ’24. “The film is my attempt to uncover and reconstruct my family’s story, while reflecting on how these experiences have shaped my own life.”

Using live-action footage, animation, and archival film, Lola explores migration, displacement, the price of assimilation, intergenerational trauma, and the importance of preserving stories of the Asian-American experience.

Ang said Emerson has honed his technical skills, and helped him figure out why he’s interested in making the films based on his past experiences and interests.

“Emerson gave me more confidence to explore subjects and themes that interest me instead of making things that others would like,” said Ang. “Also, the community that I built at Emerson has been invaluable. I continue to reach out to them for advice.”

Dancing on the Couch by Robin Chen, MFA ’26 is about his friend Tessa, who suffered from chronic Lyme disease starting at 5 years old, but wasn’t diagnosed until she was 26.

“She uses dance and choreography as a way to fight against the illness and navigate her life when undergoing treatments,” said Chen. “I want to share Tessa’s story and my emotions through film, and I also hope to use this opportunity to raise awareness about Lyme disease.”

The idea for the film came to Chen when taking Visual and Media Arts Professor Marc Fields’ Hybrid Documentary class.

“This is a class that I will always be grateful for. It was a small class that only consisted of probably 10 students, but everyone in the class were very supportive emotionally and professionally,” said Chan.

“A topic like what Dancing on the Couch explores can be difficult and dangerous because it revolves around someone that is ill, and I couldn’t make the film without all the help from my classmates and my teachers.”

The Salem Film Festival is taking place March 27-30 in Salem, Massachusetts.