Script File

Ash's New Music

Logline:
Nostalgic songs guilt a gay musician for abandoning his late, conservative, pop star-obsessed mother.

Plot:
Forced to empty their foreclosed provincial home, Ash, an aging Manila Sound musician, discovers old recordings by his late pop star-obsessed mother, Marian, singing songs by her ‘80’s pop idol, the ‘Megastar’ of the Philippines, Sharon Cuneta. The songs trigger Sharon-fueled memories that guilt Ash for abandoning Marian when she disowned him for being gay.

Marian destined Ash to be a star like Sharon, unlike her, a frustrated musician. She found his interest in singing Sharon’s songs for show auditions. However, Ash was teased gay because of it, and yet, this was true: He secretly became childhood sweethearts with his alternative rock-loving neighbor, Amiel, who comforted him by teaching him how to play music on his own. However, Marian insisted that their blooming relationship was not destined of Ash, painting her as homophobic and leaving her. As Amiel reveals how Marian died of Ash’s abandonment, he seeks reconnection by taking Ash back through those questioning teenage years. This guilts Ash even more, especially upon uncovering that Marian did not leave the songs for him, her own son, but for Amiel alone, quite unexpectedly.

Amidst a celebration of old and new Manila Sound, ‘swinging’ to Marian’s favorite songs, Ash finds that true forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be any different. After all, forgiveness is surrender, and for Ash, forgiveness is surrendering himself to his past: the music of Sharon Cuneta.

  • Robin Estargo
    Director
    Fireflies
  • Alemberg Ang
    Producer
    The Portrait
  • Robin Estargo
    Writer
    Fireflies
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Ang Bagong Tugtugin ni Ash
  • Project Type:
    Short Script, Treatment
  • Genres:
    Musical, Queer, Coming of age
  • Number of Pages:
    21
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Language:
    English, Tagalog
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Writer Biography - Robin Estargo

Robin Estargo is a Filipino director, writer, cinematographer, and producer, known for short films, documentaries, and music videos earning top prizes and participation in various local and international film festivals, such as the prestigious Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, the longest-running film and video competition in Asia, the SeaShorts Film Festival in Malaysia, the Globe International Film Festival in the Philippines, and the Bali International Film Festival in Indonesia.

He won the Central Digital Lab Prize and the Black Maria Prize at the 2019 Directors’ Guild of the Philippines Film Pitch for his first feature film in development, “Ang Bagong Tugtugin ni Ash (Ash’s New Music)”. He has directed “Daddy’s Girl”, a play-on-video project for Pelikulove directed for the stage by Nicolas Pichay and written by Dingdong Novenario for the 2016 Virgin Labfest. He won Best Music Video at the 2019 Globe International Film Festival for directing and producing Ruru’s debut music video, “Tonight!” which premiered at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in California.

He studied digital filmmaking at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2019. He studied film directing and cinematography at the Mowelfund Film Institute. He is a workshopper of notable Filipino screenwriter Ricky Lee. He is pursuing his master’s degree in sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

He is working independently as a film, advertisement, online content, and music video producer and director. He is currently based in Manila.

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Writer Statement

The film is a personal story, inspired by my rocky relationship with my own mother, Marian. She is the biggest fan of Sharon Cuneta, the 'Megastar' of the Philippines. Sharon was the darling of this '80's disco pop genre popularized in the Philippines called 'Manila Sound'. Growing up in a house that plays Sharon’s songs everyday fueled my religion of listening to this nostalgic genre.

Laguna, my home, is a very conservative, provincial town. My mother has lived there all her life. When I attended college in Manila, I was exposed to a liberal, modern culture. Thus, arguments between me and my mother are frequent events. It got to the point when I almost left our home permanently, especially when she disowned me for being gay. I made Manila my new home and rarely came back to visit her. She still loved Sharon while I have shifted to loving the liberal side of Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

Ash’s New Music is a tribute to these two opposing cultures beautifully and timelessly manifested and celebrated in Filipino music. I have found that my mother-and-child story is one of thousands alike we always hear in music. The film is a mixtape; a playlist celebrating those stories. It is especially a tribute to my mother; a thank-you note for letting me fulfill the ambition that she once had. This short is a fulfillment of her dream.

The film inspires us to forgive ourselves by owning our pasts. The music of Sharon Cuneta longs for reaching one’s dreams. This destiny is explicit in her songs. Juxtaposed with the film, a mother-and-son story of love and abandonment, it tells us that we should not apologise for reaching our dreams, and in sacrifice, for leaving people behind.

Sharon Cuneta is a big deal, not just in the Philippines but in Asia; After over 40 years of her music warming the hearts of Filipinos globally, and given our film’s message directed to the youth, it is time to revive her legacy through this universal story of a rocky mother-and-son relationship infused with and inspired by her music. We aim to spread a message of hope, love, and forgiveness, especially now, in a time when we need it the most.