By Eliana Rodriguez, Dec. 12, 2023
Whitney Agustin, a Cal Poly Pomona public relations and theatre alumna was part of the cast who won the Grand Jury Short Film award in January 2023. Out of 10,000 short films, Agustin’s film was one out of sixty-four to be chosen as a winner at the annual Sundance Film Festival resulting to be a nominee for an Oscars Award.
The Sundance Film Festival is one of the most respected film festivals in the United States. In this space, independent filmmakers have an opportunity to put forth their own arts of storytelling while attempting to reach new audiences worldwide. This year’s festival was held Jan. 19-29 in Park City, Utah where Agustin had the privilege of showcasing her work.
In the short film “When You Left Me on That Boulevard,” Agustin plays the role of Jamie, an older sister figure who appears to have it all figured it out but finds comfort in reminiscing on her childhood experiences with her cousins.
In contrast to her character, Agustin recognizes that prior to the film she experienced uncertainty of her next steps after graduating college. Due to the pandemic, such feelings about not knowing what to do next brought her discomfort, so she decided to take a gap year to explore her options.
“I had a very traditional mindset when it came to school,” said Agustin. “I knew I wanted to take the right classes, graduate, and receive an internship, but the pandemic encouraged me to come to terms with what I wanted to do, so I began taking acting classes on Zoom.”
Returning to CPP in 2021, Agustin majored in public relations, minored in theatre and was involved in Barkada, CPP’s Filipinx Club, and the department of theatre. Agustin recalls finding her voice in acting.
“It was the first year Barkada was going to do a short film for the Filipino American cultural night, and I was interested in auditioning for the show, but there was a lot of nervousness coming back after not seeing people over after a year,” said Agustin. “I ended up getting the role I wanted, but sometimes there is a lot of pressure when you get these opportunities of representing people who look like me.”
Agustin explains how she first heard about the opportunity for “When You Left Me on That Boulevard” through an online casting call.
“The film was specifically looking for Filipino Americans and that was my first time seeing something like that,” said Agustin. “I resonated with the director’s mission because there was a lot of familiarity within the script of growing up and going to Filipino parties. This was director Kayla Galang’s love letter to her past self as a way of showing appreciation to the community that raised her.”
This eccentric short film is a coming-of-age story that explores the liveliness of a Filipino American family. The protagonist Ly and her cousins decide to engage in recreational drugs before a family Thanksgiving party at their aunt’s house.
The feeling of nostalgia is something that Agustin resonated with when taking on this short film because of the script’s realistic descriptions of dialogue centered around this family. She explains that the importance of this film relies on its authenticity of Filipino American representation.
There were many steps Agustin took to receive a role within the short film. This included sending an audition tape that consisted of answering personal questions, a Zoom call and an in-person audition in San Diego.
“The whole read through audition was more of a ‘chemistry audition,’ because Galang wanted to see if I was able to mesh with other girls, since my character acted like the glue that took the lead in many instances in the film,” said Agustin. “It was the first time I felt confident in my audition, and the day I found out I got the role, it was the first day of rehearsals for the play Mr. Burns at CPP.”
Agustin explains that shooting the short film was intimate because Galang, used her aunt’s house as the location for the Thanksgiving party in the film. She recalls finding familiarity with the setting because it was not a typical Hollywood set.
“It was a very organic experience, and I resonated with a lot of people,” said Agustin. “It was almost like a little community so when watching the film, you feel like you are watching an actual family on Thanksgiving.”
Throughout all the excitement of the world premiere of this narrative short, navigating imposter syndrome was something Agustin worked through when attending the Sundance Film Festival. She explains that it was the first time she attended this festival, and while intimidating, she received a glimpse of the business behind the film industry. Paying close attention to the behind-the-scenes aspects of networking, logistics and marketing.
However, Agustin says she found comfort in believing in the film because she was confident they were going to win while also trying to process and appreciate everything that was going on around her.
“It was hard to be excited in this space because I came into this opportunity with not so high expectation due to prior burnout, so it was unreal to be there,” said Agustin. “We also ended up meeting the vice president of SAG-AFTRA which was really cool.”
At Sundance, she remembers being present in the moment, taking headshots, and watching people pay to see the short film.
“When the screening started, I remember holding hands with everyone and crying because we had made it,” said Agustin. “The film was there for everyone to see in a specific time and place.”
Agustin describes that winning such honor gave her an advancing start in her career in acting. She hopes to audition for more projects that capture her attention.
In hopes for the future, Agustin hopes to audition for more films that capture the essence of interconnectedness of identity and shared lived experiences.
“As for upcoming projects, I want to go back to school to learn more about the craft behind the film industry,” said Agustin. “This year was a lot more than I expected and I want to take it slow, but there is a possible feature film named, ‘06-07,’ with the same director that is in the works.”
When You Left Me on That Boulevard is available to watch on Vimeo as a Staff Pick.
The “When You Left Me on That Boulevard” team is currently working on campaigning for the Oscars and will find out later this month if they receive a nomination for Best Short Film (Live Action).
Feature image and photos courtesy of Whitney Agustin
