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
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