“Sa Amin: Our Place” is a 45-minute documentary uncovering the untold narrative of the Filipino community in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood, a cultural epicenter for Filipino-Americans. The film speaks to the struggles faced by Filipino activists, artists, and intergenerational families as they assert their right to the city, battling displacement driven by urban renewal, real estate speculation, and tech booms.

Featuring impactful interviews with current residents and community leaders, “Sa Amin” provides insights into decades of community organizing. It highlights individuals like Teresa Dulalas, who courageously challenged repeated evictions, Tina Alejo, a dedicated teacher and parent who fought to preserve the Filipino bilingual program, and Janine Lacap, part of the rising generation of community leaders.

Featuring never-before-seen archival footage of SoMa from the 1970s, captured by the late Filipino documentary filmmaker Sam Tagatac, “Sa Amin” unveils a people’s history of the world-famous neighborhood.

Telling this story will reshape the broader narrative of San Francisco and help SoMa’s Filipino community secure physical spaces, preserve their homes, and sustain the neighborhood as a vital cultural hub. You can learn more about the film’s work-in-progress screening for the SOMA Pilipinas community on our blog here.

The production and impact campaign of “Sa Amin: Our Place” is part of a multi-year, multi-modal collaboration with SOMA Pilipinas Cultural Heritage District (SOMA Pilipinas) called Story As A Claim to Place: SOMA Pilipinas Is Here! The project includes elements of archival research, storytelling workshops, film screenings, panel discussions, and public space activations to foster a public dialogue about the complex issues surrounding the upheaval and destruction of a community’s identity due to urban renewal in the Yerba Buena district and the impact of tech-driven real estate speculation. Overall, this project champions stories of how the resilient Filipino community has, for over a century, actively resisted and fought to maintain its presence in this historic area.