It's like Halo Halo

“It’s Like Halo Halo” is a slice of life film that tells the story of what it can mean to struggle with your cultural identity from the perspective of high school students. The story describes the unique experience of growing up in an island with a long history of colonization, migration, and influences from surrounding countries — all told from the Filipino perspective while also featuring those of different ancestry who call Guåhan home including Chamoru and Micronesian teens. In this film, halo halo is used as an allegory (coined by Dr. Tabitha Espina) to represent these differences because of the varied nature of the traditional Filipino dessert itself.

"I am halo halo—or at least that is what I tell people when they ask me what I am and where I come from. I am all mixed up. Who I am is a process."
- Tabitha Espina, Ph.D. in Mixing Halo Halo