The Gray

Perez is a former cop who has been judged to be morally “gray”— someone who is neither good nor evil. As a penalty for not choosing a moral lane, he’s been forced to take a job in purgatory to process people going to heaven or hell. One day, his 20-year old son appears— full of both yearning and resentment for his father— and he gets into a series of shenanigans to stay in purgatory with Perez. Under pressure from his supervisor, Perez decides to kick his son out of purgatory, but instead of sending him to heaven (or hell), he commits the ultimate sin and sends his son back to Earth, even if it means that Perez will spend eternity in hell. In the end, however, Perez’s actions are judged to be sacrificial and for the good of his son, and he is thus finally sent to heaven.

Myra Aquino is a writer-director who grew up in Guam and the Philippines. She is a 2020 graduate from the UCLA MFA Directing program and her work has been supported by the Delia Salvi Memorial Award, the UCLA Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, the Sony Streisand Fellowship, and the Norris Fellowship. Most recently, she was selected to participate in the 2021 Women in Film x Black List Feature Residency for her feature screenplay LAMB, and her thesis film BEAUTY QUEEN won the 2020 First Place Gold Circle Award from the Caucus Foundation and Best Short Film from the 2021 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. Myra has also received an MD and Masters in Public Health from the University of Miami.

With her eclectic background, Myra is passionate about exploring the impacts of multiculturalism and globalization on Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, and other underrepresented communities.

Plays in

Shorts Program IV: Scenes from Home

Q&A with the filmmaker after the screening Moderator: Justin Ricafort