Private Project

the wheels have stopped from rolling

A science high school graduate turned filmmaker reimagines the sudden death of his grandfather with Newton’s laws of motion. With repurposed home videos and mobile footage collected in 7 years, it explores life as a field of opposing forces, relationships as variables, and growing up as something material—looking for the science in the personal.

  • John Thomas Riosa Trinidad
    Director
  • John Thomas Riosa Trinidad
    Writer
  • John Thomas Riosa Trinidad
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Country of Filming:
    Philippines
  • Language:
    English, Tagalog
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Super 8
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.43:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of the Philippines Diliman
Director Biography - John Thomas Riosa Trinidad

JT Trinidad (b. 2001, Laguna, Philippines) is a filmmaker, journalist, and photographer who studies film at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He has directed shorts that went to international and local film festivals. Growing up in the capital, his portrayal of industrial relationships and modern emotions in his films is what defined him as a visual storyteller who makes the personal political.

In 2020, he was able to get into Ricky Lee’s Screenwriting workshop under its 25th Batch. He is also part of the first Pelikultura Film Criticism Workshop under the mentorship of Richard Bolisay. As a representative of Sine Liwanag, he covered the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. He was recently selected as one of the inaugural members of the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers, a local award-giving body. He is also a new member of Cine Critico Filipino and the assistant editor of a Philippine-based online film publication SINEGANG.ph.

His film “Boom Tiyaya” was a finalist in the C1Minute Student Film Festival 2019 which garnered almost 2 million views across various platforms. His first documentary short “as if nothing happened” won Second Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing award at the Gawad Sining Short Film Festival 2020. It was also screened in Cinema Rehiyon 2021 and was shown in Les Mains Gauches – France. It won Best Cinematography at the Films Under Severe Experiment – Croatia. It was also included in CNN Life Philippines’ list of Best Filipino Films of 2020. It was selected in the 19th edition of the BIFA and BAFTA-qualifying London Short Film Festival and 2021 up-and-coming Int. Film Festival Hannover in Germany.

His short “In Case You Forgot to Return” won Best Film at CineKabalen 2021 Culinary Section and is part of the official selection of BINISAYA Horizons, Oroquieta Film Festival, and International Folklore Film Festival in India. With his 3-minute film “PR 3953, NOW BOARDING”, he was able to enter the Top 10 of Nespresso Talents 2020 and have screened in countries like Russia and Prague. His in development short film “if you leave, please let me know” was developed in the first Cine Sundays Script Lab. He was also chosen as one of the cohorts for the inaugural Film Futura by No Evil Eye Cinema, a nomadic film school. He studied Directing at the Mowelfund Film Institute under the mentorship of Jose Javier Reyes where their recital film won Best Film. His most recent documentary project “LIKE PEOPLE, THEY CHANGE TOO” received a seed grant and mentorship from the Pelikultura: The Calabarzon Film Festival 2021. Right now, he’s in the development stage of his mid-length documentary “I don’t recognize them anymore” which was accepted in LensesXCulture: A Creative Documentary Film Lab by North Luzon Cinema Guild Inc. and Scottish Documentary Institute.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When my grandfather died last year, I’ve found myself in denial of the happenings. I would recognize his passing as something that didn’t happen, but every time I go to their house, I am reminded that he isn’t there anymore. I’d search for him in a random pool of people, finding nothing but disappointment and repressed grief. With this film, I’ve confronted this battle I’ve been to since his demise. I’ve rationalized his death, but as I try to, science just proves that itself succumbs to the idea that grief and death are something that can’t be rationalized.