how the earth remembers

a film by dave jonathan verbo

Logline

After a life-altering eye diagnosis, a grieving young woman travels to Iguig, Cagayan, searching for her late father’s unfinished documentary, only to confront a fading pottery tradition, buried memories, and the possibility of losing her own sight.

Synopsis

Grieving the death of her father, Sienna travels to Iguig, Cagayan, searching for a clay pot to replace his broken urn. But as her eyesight begins to fail, a doctor confirms that her glaucoma has become severe, forcing her to confront the possibility of losing not only her father, but her sight.

Searching for something to hold on to, Sienna becomes determined to recover her father’s unfinished documentary tapes about Iguig, Cagayan’s fading tradition of clay pottery. Her mother tells her they may still be hidden in their old house in Iguig. Carrying her father’s new clay urn, Sienna returns there and discovers something unexpected: old childhood footage of herself learning to mold clay with her father. In one recording, he tells her, “You don’t have to see things to make them. You just have to feel them.”

As fragments of her father’s documentary weave through her journey, pottery, memory, and grief begin to merge. At the riverbank, Sienna finally releases his ashes into the water. As the sun disappears and the moon rises, she realizes that even as her vision fades, some things are not meant to be seen to remain with us.

how the earth remembers
film production crew

 

director Dave Jonathan Verbo

writers Dave Jonathan Verbo & Cherry Tattao

producer Cherry Tattao

co-producers Esther Verbo, Anne Gabrielle, Grant Freedom Layag 

executive producers Stephen Verbo & Lance Vincent Gavino

director of photography
Zyrah Dence Jane Ragudo

production designer
Stephanie Mae Suyu

editors Zyrah Dence Jane Ragudo, Renier Alcazar

assistant director Ana Lucille Gonzalez

script supervisor Ven Gabriel Potang

production manager Patrick Codina Domyong

camera department Jerome Ramirez, Kyle Duerme, Renier Alcazar

art department AJ Molata

costume / makeup / hair Harlee Baccay & Carl Nebab

production assistant John Xander Ignacio

behind the scenes Renier Alcazar

social media & pr Gigi Rivera

best girl 
AJ Molata

Movie Stills

behind-the-scenes