ANY DAY WITH YOU

Family, folklore, and honors long overdue.

Kaia watches as her family plays on the beach in Southern California. She knows this is the last summer before her older sister, Lainey, leaves for her graduation trip to the Philippines and then heads off to college in New York. When her great-grandfather Tatang announces he is moving back to the Philippines, Kaia is shocked. The thought of losing two close confidants at once springs her into action. She will develop her special-effects makeup skills and win a citywide film contest with her friends as a grand sendoff for Tatang. Kaia’s focus is on her film, inspired by Filipinx folklore, until she learns that Tatang served in the U.S. military during World War II only to be robbed of promised citizenship and honors. Her strategy then becomes twofold: She continues on the film while filling out an application for Tatang to finally receive a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. Kaia’s family is originally from the Ilocos region of the Philippines, and tidbits of Filipinx folklore and culture are woven into the story—at times the explanations of these cultural themes impede the narrative flow. However, as she did in The House That Lou Built (2018), Respicio brings another refreshing contemporary glimpse into the Filipinx American experience while exposing the overlooked history and contributions of Filipinos in the U.S.

A tale of family relationships and transitions told with plenty of heart.