LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Writer/director Andrew Acedo’s Good Filipino Kids asks a simple question: What does it mean to be a good Filipino kid? The answer, it turns out, is not what you’d expect it to be. Are Ashley (Anaïs Noveras) and Francis (Reden Magtira) good Filipino kids? Everyone thinks Francis is, but not so much Ashley. She is the outsider with a nose ring, a penchant for alcohol, and she refuses to tell anyone about what she does at night.
While at a lumpia luncheon at Francis’s home, the aunties and uncles gossip about Ashley. The aunties comment on her past, her lack of education, and her lack of understanding of Filipino tradition. The uncles talk about how she’s way out of Francis’s league and give her flirting glances. They don’t exactly like that Francis is dating her, but he seems happy.
“While at a lumpia luncheon at Francis’s home, the aunties and uncles gossip about Ashley.”
In a surprise move, Ashley tells Francis she’ll go to church with him for praise night. Leading worship is Rachel (Evyn Mirasol), who gives Ashley a disapproving glance. After the service, Rachel goes over to Ashley to talk about Ashley’s future education, Rachel’s salvation, and other things related to Rachel. She speaks in Christianese and is distracted by her other friends, which leaves a sour taste in Ashley’s mouth. Frustrated, she grabs Francis to lay it all out in an intense conversation in Francis’s car.
Good Filipino Kids is a sweet story of an unlikely pair, Ashley and Francis. Francis is the good kid in everyone’s eye… except that he is dating Ashley. Most of the story is about Ashley, who struggles not only to find validation from Francis’s friends, family, and culture (both Filipino and church culture), but also to question whether she wants that validation at all. It all builds to that unexpected ending.
I love that Good Filipino Kids has something to say and drags us deep down into its message. As a short film, the storytelling, acting, and production are all on point, nearly flawless in my humble opinion. It does what all good short films should do—engage its audience from the start, pull us into the main conflicts, and at the end, make us think about what we would do or how we should feel. Then it lingers with us long after the film.
Good Filipino Kids screened at the 2026 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
