it's my big 30th bday 🎉🥳 and i'm making this post to give younger dave a birthday present of some randomly accessed moments from these last couple of years. really wanting to dispel any doubts he had in the trajectory of his life. and gosh darn it - i think he'd be pretty stoked to see how much life he would be living in the future. like dude - you've produced an award-winning short film with your best friend, worked in video game advertising at some of the best companies, evolved a fashion brand with some of the coolest mentors, got your own pad, befriended so many amazing ppl from all over the world, and created so many memories with 'em!!
i really really want to shout out to all my family and friends that have supported and continue to support me. i have nothing but feelings of gratitude for everyone in these photos. my heart is full and warm and is just filled with so much love that it can just burst. y'all are really the foundation of my life and have given me the confidence and security to be where i'm at today.
tbh - i'm not totally sure where my life is headed next but i can say that I can die happy. all i know is that i'm going to continue to deepen my bonds, meet tons of more people, expand my perspective, because my big fiery leo heart 🦁♌️👑 is full and i have so much love to give 💗
love all of y'all <3
gee whiz y'all, life has felt like a dream. it's been half a year since winning the sundance short film grand jury award in jan '23. life has been so crazy since, maaaaan.
so much life has happened in between and my heart is full of happiness and hope. tbh - i'm the happiest i've ever been and it's still difficult to fathom all of it because i genuinely feel like i just got lucky.
i reflect on what it took to get here - and it's been nothing but mad love for my family, friends and community who provided tremendous support. i'm glad my family was patient and supportive with me and the film. i'm glad that i stuck with the cool san diego emo/scene kids growing up because y'all made it OK to be emotionally vulnerable with each other. i'm glad that i bonded with atx folks who are all just so down to earth and are just sooo freakin' talented in sooo many ways. who would've thought that my austin and san diego worlds would cosmically fuse together into a community around this film. there's so much in store for all of us - and i'm super stoked on our futures.
as i continue to live this dream, my m.o moving forward is to make the film of our dreams with the team/community that i hold so dearly close to my heart ☺️✨💗
love y’all
david here:
i lived in paradise hills for at least a third of my life, and have made frequent trips back since moving to austin, but this photo assignment for boulevard felt surreal.
i don't think about the area itself often, but i had to when i was tasked with taking photos during development and research. it was strange to be a tourist in my own hood, deliberately thinking about the parts that make it what it is: the hills, the taco shops, the liquor stores, the iron-barred house windows, the desert foliage, the sunny weather. all these things felt so mundane to me when i was younger.
i'm so lucky to be able to create a visual love letter to the hood and community i owe so much to, alongside one of my best friends and a team of spectacular people. one caveat i want to add is that the film is not particularly about being filipino or even the paradise hills community. these are just the layers of a film that'll take people back to the years where "the hairstyles were choppy, the jeans were skinny, and the music was loud." from old ass millennials to the kids who grew up on ipads. from paradise hills natives to people thousands of miles away. i'm sure you'll be able to see yourself in this story.
can't wait to share the film with y’all next year!!
