By Write Here is a film I created about a gay man struggling with Alzheimer’s – an issue that generally plagues older people.
So when people find out how old I am, they tend to be surprised.
Dear Straight People,
My name is Jake Muñoz Consing.
I’m 22-years old and I want to take you behind the scenes of this 15-minute gay short film that has become a piece of my heart—a film that explores the delicate dance between memory, queerness, and the inexorable grip of Alzheimer’s.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved watching films. Before long, I found myself wanting to become a filmmaker.
Being an alumnus of the Ricky Lee Screenwriting Workshop and a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the Ateneo De Manila University, I co-founded Seiga Productions. As a filmmaker, I’m driven by a passion for storytelling that delves into the nuances of the queer experience, family dynamics, mental health, and broader societal issues.
Over the years, I’ve made many short films. All of my films hold a special place in my heart. But Write Here is special as it stems from a very personal place—my grandfather’s struggle with Alzheimer’s.
Write Here As A Tribute To My Grandfather
Growing up, I never really got to know him. We never spoke because he couldn’t speak – he was dying with Alzheimer’s.
By the time of my first memory with him, he had lost all ability to speak and needed assistance to walk, eat, and swallow. I used to sit by his bed and talk to him. He never answered, obviously.
I only knew him through the stories of my mom or pictures of him at family events, as a lawyer, at weddings, playing golf, love letters he wrote to my grandmother. Apparently, we both loved tuna rolls and shrimp tempura at Japanese restaurants.
But in 2011, he died.
And for a man who never spoke a word to me, a man I only knew through stories, through pictures, through letters, through memories of the past – I cried my eyes out.
That’s what this film is to me. It’s a journey of connecting with someone solely through the fragments of the past—a theme that echoes throughout “Write Here.”
Write Here: Unraveling Eddie’s Memories
In Write Here, Eddie’s story unfolds as he clings to the fragments of his past in a notebook, a poignant metaphor for the struggle against the relentless erosion of memory. The discovery of a locked room, a treasure trove of memories, sets the stage for a narrative that explores the intricacies of love, loss, and the ghosts that haunt our pasts.
The film is framed from the subjective experience of Eddie’s Alzheimer’s – everything he discovers, we discover with him; everything he forgets, we forget with him. Write Here attempts to explore the contradictions in memory, from the beauty of nostalgia to the pains of regret.
Queerness in Focus: Navigating Memories and Identity
As a queer person growing up in a conservative, predominantly Catholic country, that comes with a lot of trauma, from discrimination, to ostracisation, to hiding one’s true self, sometimes for life. I’ve repressed many of those memories. To the point where I have trouble remembering my childhood.
My own experiences with navigating memories and identity have seeped into the film’s narrative.
Write Here doesn’t shy away from addressing the trauma that comes with discrimination, ostracization, and the struggle to authentically be oneself. The film becomes a mirror reflecting the amalgamation of blissful nostalgia and painful regret that defines the queer journey.
“Write Here”: A Catalyst for Conversations
As the creator of “Write Here,” I wish for the film to be more than just a cinematic piece, but furthermore, to be a catalyst for conversations. Navigating Eddie’s memories, we’re prompted to confront our own pasts, question our present, and ponder the fragility of the human experience.
In a society that sometimes forgets, “Write Here” becomes a vessel carrying the voices of those, like Eddie, grappling with the erasure of their identities in the face of societal norms. It’s a call to remember, to reflect, and ultimately, to connect with the profound humanity that unites us all.
In the end, “Write Here” is meant to be a journey—one that invites us all to delve into the intricacies of memory, queerness, and the tapestry of identity.
Written by Jake Muñoz Consing: @kino.mc61
WATCH THE FILM HERE
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