It's almost Christmas, Alma is on her way home from work with a missed call from her mother Nanay. She listens to it as she goes about her night from cooking dinner to exploring the city alone. Alma can't seem to reach her mother on the phone, and leaves her a voice message in exchange. Their series of missed calls eventually overlap each other as though they're speaking directly to each other while London's night begins to be Manila's day.

‘This film draws a lot from my personal struggle of seeking a sense of belonging between two places in which I feel like I don't belong. Exploring the dualities of identity and longing through the scope of growing up in the post-colonial Philippines I've found that the only true anchor I have is with my family. This has been made much more difficult due to the fact that I, like Alma, have not seen my own mother in a long time. I understand that within my position and limitations that to soothe this restlessness and cognitive dissonance is through constantly finding, losing and finding again is a sense of stillness, acceptance, and equanimity to be able to ground myself, much like what Alma finds at the films conclusion.’

- Sofia del Carmen

There Is Not A Going Back is currently going through festival circulation and will be made available for public viewing in 2023.