Margarita Mina, a third-year MFA film student at Stony Brook University’s Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film, has received national recognition for her short film “Baby Fat.” Mina was named one of 17 recipients of the National Board of Review Student Grant for 2025. Her film was also listed by Rolling Stone Philippines as one of its “21 Best Filipino Films of 2025.”
Mina’s experience moving from the Philippines to New York in 2023 influenced her work. She described feeling isolated upon arrival, which became central to the narrative of “Baby Fat.” The film follows a Filipino-American tween who spills ketchup on a family heirloom dress, leading to an exploration of girlhood, body image, and cultural identity.
“I was pleasantly surprised that being a Filipino, and my very Filipino film, could touch people of different ethnicities who also feel the same way,” Mina said.
Reflecting on her transition to life in the United States and her time at Stony Brook University, Mina noted how personal experiences shaped both the story and visual style of her film. “It’s a very ‘me’ film,” she said. “I moved to America from the Philippines in 2023 for grad school at Stony Brook, and I had come here without family, so I was alone. I always wanted to go to New York my whole life, but I felt so alone.”
She recalled an early moment after arriving: “I remember I was in a laundromat when I first arrived here, and I thought ‘Oh my god, I just want to go in the dryer and shrink and hide’ because of how I feel in this country,” she said. “I felt very proud of myself because I cried a lot making Baby Fat.”
Growing up in Quezon City with her father fostered her interest in movies. She later earned a BA in Film under Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines Diliman before taking a break from filmmaking.
Her return to filmmaking came after joining Stony Brook’s program. Mina highlighted its focus on independence: “The truly independent tagline of the program enticed me,” she said. “I got the impression that it was a program that would allow me to be radical and not follow a specific film school template.”
She credited classes such as “Writing the Short” and “Production I” with helping her learn narrative filmmaking techniques. “Before coming to SBU, I never really knew how to properly write and make a narrative film,” she said. “From pitching that image in my classes, I was able to form the building blocks that propelled my story from a formal, linear beginning to end.”
Mentorship played an important role during her studies: “It was a safe space where I didn’t have to censor any of my vulnerability,” she said.
Mina explained that faculty encouraged students’ authentic voices: “They always encourage us to tell stories that only we can tell,” she said. “They were always aware and cautious of the nuances that every student brings to their writing.”
Stony Brook nominated Mina for the National Board of Review Student Grant—making her the first student from its program selected for this award—which supports emerging filmmakers whose films have gone on to festivals like Sundance.
“I was surprised that they nominated me since it was just for my first-year film,” she said. “It gave me a morale boost that I may actually be doing this filmmaking thing ‘right.’”
Looking ahead, Mina is editing another short film while developing her thesis project set in the Philippines. She expressed confidence about future projects: “I keep getting shortlisted,” she said. “But I know I will get in. I’m manifesting!”
She plans ongoing collaboration between New York and Philippine communities while continuing studies at Stony Brook University: “I’m happy I chose this program,” she said. “They help me develop the things I see and want to say.”
