The Roaring of the Carabao

NOMINEE – Best Experimental Short

Born in the United States, a daughter visits the Philippines for the first time. On the night of her arrival to her mother’s homeland, a volcano erupts. Mesmerized by the land’s turbulence, she wanders through the past, the present, and the hereafter following the glow of an ember. Utilizing aspects of hauntology, “The Roaring of the Carabao” engages with the volcano’s ongoing activity as a spectre of the production of Filipino Americanism; silenced imaginaries never properly mourned for and visions of a future that were promised but never arrived- a method of considering the volcano’s activity itself as a process relentless remembering. Activating the Taal volcano as a dynamic character reconciling with the land’s history, the film narrates a story of a night of the volcano’s eruption, intergenerational anger and a desire for heat.

Directed by Angeline Meitzler

Director’s Bio: Angeline Marie Michael Meitzler is a writer and animator based in Brooklyn, NY. The 2nd daughter of a German scientist and a Filipino nurse. She is the author of the forthcoming lyrical collection of prose, A Drop of Sun (Fauxmoir Lit Press, 2023). Her poetry and hybrid writing was nominated as a finalist for the 2023 Newfound Prose Prize. Her animated films and multimedia work has exhibited and screened internationally at the 46th Asian American International Film Festival, San Diego Filipino Film Festival, Natasha Singapore Biennial, Singapore (2022); SummerWorks Festival, Toronto (2022); The Human Terminal, Anonymous Gallery, NYC (2021); Feminist Media Studio, Montreal (2018). Her work has been awarded fellowships and supported by MASS MoCA, Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, Harvestworks, the New Artist Society Fellowship and New York State Council of the Arts. She received her MFA through the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.

Plays in

Hidden Passages

An astral door. A secret highway. A lost memory. As we are propelled across history, through pain, and into transcendence, the only thing we have to hold onto is other people. In this showcase of potent and evocative short films, the fantastic and surreal coalesce with deep human truths, telling stories about what we mean to each other and ourselves through the primal language of dreams and impulses. Characters overcome grief, find lost loves, and reconnect with the past. Explore the realms of joy, fear, and wonder as we enter life’s hidden passages.