Rhea is a mixed-race woman navigating her identity in this divisive era. Connected to her culture through Filipino martial arts, she's put up to a test after a fight breaks out on the train.

Disarm is a short animated, martial arts-drama. Set mere weeks following the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, a multiracial Filipino American woman, Rhea, deals with identity issues, both within the wider Asian American community and from her white mom. An avid practitioner in the Filipino martial art of escrima, her friend and sparring partner, Jared, attempts to assure her of her place in the community, and how she should talk with her mom, who hasn’t checked in with her at all since the attack happened. Things come to a head while on a train ride home, and another anti-Asian motivated hate crime starts to unfold. Strapped only with her escrima sticks, Rhea must decide how to respond.

When the pandemic began and members of the Asian American community started getting attacked, it infuriated me to no end. A year later, when the Atlanta spa shootings left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women, I was completely shattered. I felt the need and urge to speak out and be there for my community. While doing so, I felt like I was tripping over conflicts both pre-existing and arising in the tragedy’s aftermath.

I was raised in a white household, and I’ve had to make strives into owning up to and embracing my Filipino and mixed-race identities when there was no guidance of the sorts growing up. I felt very under-supported after the attacks happened, and when I spoke with other mixed-race Asians online about their experiences with their white parents, I quickly realized I was not alone in that.

My experiences and existence don’t always feel acknowledged nor validated by the larger Asian American community. Usually when we hear the term “Asian American,” the face that comes to mind is that of an individual who’s mono-racial and of East Asian descent. To be someone who has neither of those commonly associated qualities, I often feel like I have to stand firm and make it clear that community members like myself are here too and deserve to be heard.

Disarm was born out of thoughts and feelings I’ve had from both these experiences. Rhea is my outlet for exploring these distinct yet interconnected struggles, as they’re applied in a scenario we’ve become horrifyingly used to seeing in the news, but turned on its head. My hope is that it will both open up the eyes of white parents of Asian children to our unique experiences, as well as the minds of Asian America over who is considered part of the community, and whether they feel truly accepted.

There are not enough stories out there that explore the mixed Asian experience. Who better to tell such a story than by someone who actually is mixed Asian? Also, while there have been attempts in prior years at securing funding through competitions and fellowships, at the end of the day, sometimes in order for a story to be told -- especially one as important as this one -- you've got to take it into your own hands.

The timing of this project couldn’t be more critical when the Modified Age and Race Census erased and re-categorized millions of mixed-race people without their consent into single race categories. This also comes following a recent study by The Asian American Foundation, that showed that 40% of Americans believe that Asian Americans have more loyalty to their countries of origin than the U.S. -- a number that has doubled from 2021. Stories like Disarm are needed now more than ever in showing just how nuanced the experiences of mixed-race individuals are, and the loyalties of Asian Americans should not nor ever be questioned. Our goal is to have it enter the festival circuit in 2026, which will be five years since the Atlanta shootings happened.

Lauren Lola (writer, co-director)

Lauren Lola is an emerging screenwriter and filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Theatre from California State University, East Bay and two completed feature-length screenplays through the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting. She has penned the short films, Breath of Writing and Interview with an Aswang (which she also co-directed and produced). She also previously served as a consultant on Michaela Ternasky-Holland’s Reimagined Volume II: Mahal, which world premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival. Lauren’s short screenplay, Disarm, was a semifinalist in the 2023 screenplay competition of the HollyShorts Film Festival, and her feature-length screenplay, In Ecstatic Motion, was a quarterfinalist in the 2024 American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition. 

Darrick Lazo (co-director, editor)

Darrick Lazo is a multiple Primetime Emmy-nominated film and television editor known for his work on award winning series. He gained recognition in editing across a variety of genres and formats in scripted and unscripted entertainment.  His journey in storytelling began at an early age and was quickly recognized for his ability to captivate an audience through video.  His technical prowess has allowed him to have a more calculated approach to filmmaking and storytelling.  Lazo is a second-generation immigrant and has close ties to Filipino culture and the Filipino-American experience.  Throughout his youth he danced with a Filipino Folk dance group.  From his youth and into adulthood he became an Eskrima practitioner.  Through his work, he has enjoyed showcasing world cultures and experiences.

George Nelson (animator)

George Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and filmmaker based in San Francisco. He is a creative in traditional and digital mediums, producing work through the Vietnamese American perspective. George has directed and animated short films since 2020, including With Me and Another Pack, both of which have been featured in festivals around the globe. His production work on the documentary Rock, Paper, Paint: Art of the People was recognized in the the United Nations Association Film Festival. In between his duties on the board of Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, he is an active collaborator and producer in the Bay Area.

As much as this is a labor of love and need to speak truth to a very important issue, there are costs to cover in order for this project to be successful. Your contributions will go towards covering expenses including pay for the animators, cast, crew, PreViz, film festival submissions, other production fees, etc.