The Gem Project

The GEM Project is the first-ever Undocumented Immigrant, Asian, and Pacific Islander creative collaboration of a Visual Album for the GEM Mixtape. TGP is a visual album highlighting Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, immigration challenges, and the deeper connection of the essence of dehumanization.

Each song explores subject matters of Intimacy, Grief, Resiliency, Self-Reflection, Growth, and healing, all of which hereunder common human traits that are overshadowed by prelabeled news and tv show narratives.

Directed by Paolo Rein
Produced by Paolo Rein and SoulTree

About the filmmaker: Born in the Philippines and brought over at the age of 2, Paolo Rein is an emerging Writer, Director, and Activist local to Carson, California, and the greater SouthBay LA Area. Having grown up undocumented with immigrant parents and navigating the gutters of gang life in SouthBay LA, Paolos early on exposure to such unjust systemic systems that keep folks poor and incarcerated have greatly influenced his passion for filmmaking. Inspired by the community around him, he aims to tackle issues such as colorism, representation on film, and addressing matters on social and political themes where his experiences offer a different humane lens where it is needed. As an activist through the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective and his various contributions towards immigrant rights, he has continuously advocated for immigrants and formerly incarcerated folks to be in the film entertainment space.

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