Two second-generation immigrant friends Jonah, a Filipino-American, and Gabriela, a Mexican-American, return to Houston, Texas for the first time in years as a record-strength hurricane rapidly approaches the city. They are returning to help, or convince, their families to evacuate before the storm makes landfall within 48 hours. As they retread their childhood neighborhoods, they re-encounter the reasons they left - Jonah’s separated or absent family, alienated from the Filipino community and Gabriela’s family being displaced from their home.

As the sky darkens, Gabriela’s undocumented cousin loses his shelter in the storm, forcing them to seek a new safe place for all of them. Jonah’s ability to help is now reliant on a repressed memory from his upbringing that he has not yet come to terms with - something that Gabriela can sense even if he will not share it.

The question arises: can Jonah and Gabriela put aside their placelessness in order to place their trust in each other?

"As We Leave, It Follows springs from my desire to sum up two decades of growing up as a second-generation Filipino-American in Texas - a place that neither me nor my family were born in, but nonetheless became a home for us.

Over the last couple years of working as a filmmaker and organizer in Texas, I have experienced the collective memories and experiences of minority and immigrant communities across the state. Our shared backgrounds and cultures across generations coming together to shape our present and work towards a new future. Today, as a result of these collective histories, myself and several other Texans are asking: is there a future in this state for us? Is there a future for our cultures or our dreams and aspirations?

This questioning is what pushes the film’s characters to seek answers and, simultaneously, is what drives myself to tell this story. Not as a way to find those answers, but as a challenge to keep asking those questions. One might have an answer, but a majority of Texans are still searching.

I’ve been finding myself summing up these stories about Texas, into one.

This story isn’t just mine. It’s ours."

-Jhad Villena, Director

"As We Leave, It Follows is a visual journey inspired by the director's experience as a second-generation Filipino-American in Texas—a place that feels both foreign and familiar, where past and present converge. As an immigrant of Samoan heritage, born in New Zealand and raised in Sydney, Australia, and now having lived and worked in Dallas, TX for several years, I sought to capture this complex connection through the lens.

The camera serves as both observer and participant, using light and composition to reflect the tension between rich histories and an uncertain future. The lighting choices and camera angles aim to convey the duality of familiarity and estrangement in a land that may or may not have room for us.

My role as cinematographer is not to provide answers but to visually evoke the questions the director’s characters face. By highlighting contradictions, beauty, and unease, I hope to prompt viewers to see that while some find resolution, many are still searching. Through this film, I aim to challenge viewers to keep questioning, to reflect on why answers differ, and to contemplate what that means for our shared future."

-Ryan Sagote, Director of Photography

For many, Texas has become a flashpoint location of overwhelming desperation, confusion, and separation. From a winter storm and statewide power grid failure that killed hundreds in 2021; to Hurricane Beryl this past July that wiped out electricity for millions in the heat of summer; to basic civil liberties and social services being gutted by Texas legislature.

And yet, more and more migration and investment floods into Texas each year - all of which brings in new industry and new money and new faces, displacing many faces that were already here.

Many Texans are questioning their future here as their communities are forced to uproot and relocate. Do you flee storms in search of refuge, while taking your family and home with you? Or do you remain where you're from, preparing all that you can for what's on the horizon?

As We Leave, It Follows emerges as the taut midpoint between these two extremes - like the knot of a rope pulled in two directions, ready to snap. This film dares us as Texans to trust one another, to hold accountable, to deeply examine, and truly see each other - and ourselves - all inadequacies included. Because if we’re gonna weather the coming storms in Texas, we’re gonna need that trust.

With that trust in mind, we're asking for your support to reach our total budget of $20,000.

So far, we have raised $10,000 for production of As We Leave, It Follows. That consists of $6,000 awarded by Austin Film Society Short Film Grant that kickstarted our pre-production process along with $4,000 personally invested by the filmmakers. This is only enough to cover our cast & crew's labor.

We need an additional $10,000 in crowdfunding in order to properly craft this film the right way. The additional funds will go directly towards locations, production design, equipment rentals, and meals for everyone on set.

Publicly asking for this support expresses what’s at the core of As We Leave, It Follows - vulnerability and trust. One month from now, because of you, we will be able to craft a film that deeply resonates with and collectively challenges our hopes, fears, divisions, and aspirations.

You support of any kind helps make this film happen.

• PLEDGE to our campaign. These funds go directly towards production of AS WE LEAVE, IT FOLLOWS.
• SHARE our campaign and our website for the film with your friends, families, and colleagues across social media and word of mouth
• FOLLOW us here on Seed&Spark and across social media where we'll be posting updates and info on the film

Jhad Villena, our director, is on Instagram @jhadvillena

TAMARIND, our film collective, is on Instagram @tamarind.com, and our website.

Visit our website to learn more about the story, characters, and visual style of

AS WE LEAVE, IT FOLLOWS.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about AS WE LEAVE, IT FOLLOWS. This film was born out of collective experience and trust, and to see that trust and support given back to us over the past year, has had a deep impact on us thus far.

We look forward to sharing what we create, with your help, very soon!