About the director

Maria Estela Paiso is a filmmaker based in the Philippines. She perceives her dreams as memories from an alternate life she lives while asleep. Under the alias metromaria, she DIYs hip-hop music videos for local rap artists whose tracks often feature political commentary on societal issues in the Philippines. In 2021, she forayed into directing her first short film, Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol (It’s Raining Frogs Outside), and in 2024 she released Kay Basta Angkarabo Yay Bagay Ibat Ha Langit (Objects Do Not Randomly Fall From the Sky), both mixed-media films about her hometown, Zambales. In Objects, she juxtaposes her mother’s childhood stories with interviews from fisherfolk facing territorial aggression from China.