Ana Barredo’s engaging The Year I Did Nothing opens in 1985 Manila with Santos siblings Christina (Nora Lapena), George Washington (Jared Xander Silva), and Elena (Faith Toledo) all glued to television set watching and re-watching their favorite American television programs as they prepare for their planned move to the United States.
“The Year I Did Nothing” describes the months leading up to the 1986 Philippines Revolution from the perspective of a family in Manila excitedly waiting to immigrate to America.
Manila, the Philippines, 1985: 15-year-old Christina (Nora Lapena) learns that the application her parents (Rhandy Torresm, Maria Noble) have put in at the US Immigration Office 10 years ago is finally being processed
Ana Barredo immigrated to the United States with her family in 1986. The Filipino-American filmmaker says she has always been fascinated by Hollywood; in fact, Barredo insists she learned to speak English watching American TV shows while growing up in the Philippines.
Set in 1985, Manila, three siblings spend an extended summer waiting to immigrate to the United States, while their country gets ready to evict their homeland’s notorious dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
In the 1980’s, everyone still wanted to come to the United States and chase the American dream. If you lived in the Philippines, the U.S. probably looked especially enticing, as the dictator Ferdinand Marcos watched while his country’s economy fell apart.
Set in 1985 in the follows a year in the life of the Santos family as they await their anticipated emigration to America.