LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Andrew Acedo’s The Sharp Point of Time follows a mother and son who are completely at odds with one another — she’s trying to save him from himself, he’s trying to get away from her. The story sits at the crossroads of sacrifice and expectation in an immigrant family.

Forty years ago in the Philippines, Eileen (Pinky Albea) was a director. She had a camera and dreams that actually felt possible. Now she lives in Chino Hills, and her dream has faded to family life. Eileen watches her son Joe (Julian Bataclan) smoke weed with his dealer on the street. When she catches him, he doesn’t listen. Neither does the drug dealer who books it out of there and tells her—flat out—to back off and quit controlling the kid.

“Eileen watches her son Joe smoke weed with his dealer on the street.”

Joe sees his mother as controlling, and Eileen sees him as a disappointment, a slacker throwing his life away. She has another son, Matthew (Matthew Acedo), who has Down syndrome and gives her zero problems—nothing like Joe’s troubles. She dotes on him, loves him. Joe’s different. He’s been shadowing the cinematographer on set and hopes his former director mother will acknowledge it. They barely talk anymore. He’s got his own thing going with his dealer, his own arguments, his own life that has nothing to do with her expectations.

Andrew Acedo’s The Sharp Point of Time is the personal story of Acedo’s family and upbringing. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. It hits on a common theme among Asian immigrants. Parents who sacrifice everything to move to the United States to give their children a better life…in this case, it was for Matthew. Eileen wonders if that sacrifice was worth it, seeing Joe addicted to weed. Acedo incredibly conveys this sentiment in the life of Joe and Eileen. No one is the villain; our two leads let pride stand in the way of the bond between mother and son. The performances of Bataclan and Albea are special. My only criticism is you need to work on lighting, paticularly indoor. When it comes to telling stories of ordinary people, Acedo is a master, as seen not only in The Sharp Point of Time but in his other short film, Good Filipino Kids. It’s hard not to fall in love with something that is relatable and authentic.

The Sharp Point of Time screened at the 2026 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.