Writer and Director

Born in Olongapo City, Philippines, and raised in San Diego, California, and Houston, Texas, Kayla Abuda Galang is a second- generation Filipino American filmmaker exploring themes of home, family, and belonging. She lives with her partner and two cats in Austin, Texas, where she works as a producer and editor at the University of Texas in the College of Liberal Arts.

Her latest film, When You Left Me on That Boulevard, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and received the Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Her film Learning Tagalog With Kayla (2021) premiered at SXSW, received an Audience Award, and went

on to screen at festivals such as Palm Springs, Indie Memphis, Encounters, and Reel Asian. She is currently developing two feature films: ‘06-’07, a coming-of-age comedy set in mid-2000s southeast San Diego, and On Earth as it is in Heaven, a comedy about familial grief set in present-day Houston.