Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Hiller.
Hi Eli, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Filipino-American documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in Columbus, Ohio. I spent most of my childhood in Appalachian Ohio interrupted with annual winter escapes with my mother to countries all over Central America. This upbringing instilled a deep curiosity in languages, history, travel, and culture that has shaped my values and interests as an adult. In 2017, I moved to the Philippines and although I had never been to the archipelago prior to this trip, I felt a deep sense of peace and belonging knowing I was living in my ancestral homelands. The Philippines and its people allowed me to grow confident in my bi-racial identity as a Filipino American from the heartland of the United States. There I met Filipino artists who created artwork that expressed their political beliefs against the backdrop of President Duterte’s authoritarian grip on the country. This exposure to political dissent in the form of art inspired me to focus on stories that uplifted the marginalized populations of the Philippines who were frequent targets of the state.
While living in Manila, I founded a video production company, BARRIO 99, with other Filipino filmmakers. Together we created films on HIV discrimination in Manila, the impact of Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, the Marawi-ISIS armed conflict, and many other films on human rights issues in the country.
In May 2020, I returned to Ohio to explore more career opportunities as a filmmaker and take refuge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Since returning, I’ve worked as a freelance video journalist, documentary dop, and director, and started my own video production company Amihan Films.
When I first returned to Ohio, the George Floyd protests had begun, and I was reminded of the structural racism of the United States and how my body was subjugated to the confines of race and identity politics. Then in March 2021, six Asian women were gunned down by a white assailant in Atlanta, Georgia, and it became clear to me that Asian hate crimes were on the rise all across the country. In response, other Filipinos and I held a rally outside of the Ohio Statehouse to pressure politicians to pass reforms to protect and support Asian communities in Ohio. These tragic events and the current state of the country has motivated me to dedicate myself towards long-form films that uplift BIPOC representation and historical significance in the midwestern United States to challenge the status quo of whiteness.
With my background as a journalist, I’ve traditionally removed myself from the story, but now I’m turning the camera on myself and my family to reflect on the self. The characters of my prior film works are normally people marginalized by a structural inequality, but with this personal film my half-siblings are grappling with a conflict that is within acceptance and belonging. I’ve never worked on a film that is personal in nature, and no doubt the process will challenge my directorial expertise. I expect the visual style of the film to be primarily cinema verité footage with supporting found footage. With that in mind, I hope to expand my documentary cinematography skills as I’ll film most of the scenes independently. Most importantly, if I’m able to tell this story that encapsulates the fluidity of identity as a donor-conceived person then I’ll be proud to have created a film work that is uniquely me.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I am half-Filipino, half-German American, and I was born and raised in Ohio. However, like many Filipino families, I was constantly pressured to pursue careers in medicine or the hard sciences. Although, at the age of fifteen I fell in love with photography so there was no going back from that. While living in Ohio, I very rarely came across other AAPI business owners unless they worked in the food service industry. So, it was quite hard to envision myself as a successful creative entrepreneur or let alone a small business owner. In my college program, I was one of the three BIPOC students and the only Asian-American student at the time. For the longest time, I associated whiteness with financial success. I denounced my own Filipino history, struggles, and beliefs to become as culturally white as possible as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t until I moved to the Philippines in 2017 that I witnessed a counter-narrative to this colonial mentality. While living in the Philippines, I met many other Filipino entrepreneurs who were taking matters into their own hands. I met designers creating high-end fashion companies, fin-tech CEOs, restaurant owners, environmentalists creating eco-parks, and countless entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs managed to interweave indigenous practices and western modernity in their business practices. These four years abroad helped chip away at my internalized oppression as a Filipino American from the heartland of the United States.
Living in Columbus, Ohio, there are very few Asian-Americans who stick around for long. Many flee to more creative and diverse hubs in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. However, with the onset of the pandemic many people moved back home for an extended period of time. I believe many realized they didn’t need to live in a city to succeed. Many millennials have grown tired of overpriced rent, competitive work markets, and inability to save for a future. I believe there is an opportunity to stand out in these smaller midwestern cities and foster a creative community.
Unfortunately, amid the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a dramatic rise in hate crimes perpetrated towards members of the AAPI community. Although I personally haven’t experienced any racialized discrimination, I know a number of Ohio-based AAPI business owners who have experienced a downsizing in their business because of racial biases. As a creative entrepreneur myself, I try to highlight how as AAPI business owners we deserve equal access to financial prosperity. I do this through meeting other AAPI entrepreneurs and creating photo and films works that highlight discrimination in the Midwest.
Although I’m no longer living in the Philippines, I want to stay true to my Filipino identity now as a creative entrepreneur living in the Midwest. Growing up I never saw films of AAPI people living in the rural United States or AAPI entrepreneurs. If Asian Americans are to be truly seen as a diverse community rather than a monolith, support for our lives and livelihoods must be unconditional. This requires taking action that is specifically meant to benefit Asian Americans—no matter our population size, not just along the way of benefiting someone else.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a filmmaker and photographer who specializes in documentary films, branded documentaries, portraiture, and photojournalism. As a filmmaker with a background in journalism, I understand how to find and produce compelling stories that connect to something larger than just the people portrayed in my medium. I seek stories that align with my moral compass and greater vision of creating a more equitable and just world. While I’m open to collaboration on projects, I’ve grown accustomed to working independently on film projects from conception until completion. Although this year, I’m trying to work on larger film sets improve my knowledge about lighting, directing, collaboration and storytelling.
I also run my own video production company Amihan Films. We create documentary content that builds authenticity and trustworthiness for brands. I aspire to collaborate with companies to create documentary content that bridges the intersection of brand values, a person’s journey, and a commitment to human values.
I’m currently working on my first feature-length documentary about my family. The film is a personal one. Throughout the film, my siblings and I are grappling with our identity as Filipino-Americans because we were all created through donor insemination with the same anonymous Filipino sperm donor. We all grew up unfamiliar with Filipino culture as all of our mothers are Caucasian American. The film follows my siblings and I as we search for our biological father; we build relationships with each other and travel to the Philippines together.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Every winter when I was in K-12 school, I would travel to Central America with my mother because she hated the Ohio cold.
Pricing:
- Portraiture Session – $500
- Documentary Interviews – $1,000
- Event Coverage – $550
- Film Production – $250 to $500
- Branded Documentary – $1,200 to $ 2,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elihiller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elihiller/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1500787302
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elihillerphotos/?locale=en_US
Image Credits
Persephone Mitchell
Gracie Becker
Prince Shakur
Kevin Inthavong
