When You Left Me on That Boulevard
2023, Narrative Short, 13 min.
Teenager Ly and her cousins get high before a boisterous family Thanksgiving at their auntie’s house in southeast San Diego in 2006.
World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and recipient of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize.
Featuring Kailyn Dulay, Melissa Arcaya, Elle Rodriguez, Whitney Agustin, Gina May Gimongala, and Allan Wayne Anderson
Written and Directed by Kayla Abuda Galang
Produced by Samantha Skinner, Alifya Ali, Udoy Rahim, David Oconer, and Kayla Abuda Galang
Cinematography by Rajinee
Production Designers by Meryl Aquino and Serina Chantrachuck
Edited by Matt Stryker and Kayla Abuda Galang
Wardrobe by Annabelle Sundara and Carlo Ybanez
Makeup and Hair by Rochelle Sunglao
Sound Design by Will Kurzner
Supported by the Austin Film Society Travel Grant.
50+ Festival Selections and Winner of:
Sundance Film Festival (World Premiere) — Short Film Grand Jury Prize
SXSW Film & TV Festival — Special Jury Award for Vision
Nevada City Film Festival — Best Production Design, Best Editing
San Diego Filipino Film Festival — Jury Award for Best Short Narrative, Audience Award
Drunken Film Fest Oakland — Best U.S. Narrative
San Diego Asian Film Festival — Grand Jury Prize
“An uproarious take on extended family, irreverence and tradition with incredible attunement to details and frame.” — 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Competition Jury
“It’s a film that contains both bustling images and delicate vibes, inner-voice stillness and subtle soundscapes... this short might preview a feature, and Galang’s immersive exploration of inner and outer spaces makes one eager to watch what comes next.” — The New York Times
“Hilarious, whimsical, and fantastical, Kayla Abuda Galang’s When You Left Me on That Boulevard offers a new take on a coming of age story centered around a community we rarely get to see on screen.” — SXSW Film & TV Texas Shorts Competition Jury
“Filled with minute attention to detail, When You Left Me on That Boulevard may specifically evoke coming of age in a Southern Californian Filipino community in 2006, but it stirs feelings of nostalgia from a cherished era no matter what road you’ve traveled…” — The Moveable Fest
Meet the Artist, 2023 Sundance Film Festival: