Little Manila

A Vancouver-based travel agent tries to recreate her ailing Filipino housemaid’s childhood home before she dies.

Little Manila is the story of Ms. Castro, a Vancouver-based travel agent who, with the help of her son, struggles to recreate their ill Filipino housemaid’s childhood home before she dies. While the mother-son duo endeavor to fulfill her dying wish, Yaya (housekeeper) asks to see her sister, Angel, whom she hadn’t talk to since leaving the Philippines. Desperate to allow Yaya one last goodbye, Ms. Castro risks the whole facade by disguising herself as Yaya’s sister, but gets more than she bargains for.

Arthur Rodger ‘Harley’ Maranan is a film writer, director, and composer from Manila, Philippines. He moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2018 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree for Film Production from the University of British Columbia in 2022.

Since then, Harley has assumed various crew positions for a variety of narrative and commercial projects, and specializes in location sound mixing. Harley currently works as a Video Producer for Authority Media (SoundGuys). He also continues to work on sets around Vancouver, with a primary focus on location sound mixing and composing.

In the future, Harley is eager to use his experiences in the industry to better inform his writing and directing. His storytelling focuses on defining—and redefining—the roles of Asians in the modern world, told through his unique Filipino blend of humor and drama.

Plays in

Shorts Program VII: DIASPORA

A Q&A panel with the filmmakers will take place after the screening. DIASPORA delves into complex stories of…