Set Hernandez Rongkilyo | Visiting Artist Lecture Series

Set Hernandez Rongkilyo is an undocumented immigrant filmmaker and community organizer whose roots come from Bicol, Philippines. They are the fruit of their parents’ sacrifices, their siblings’ resilience, and their community’s nurturing. Set envisions a filmmaking landscape that centers equity and abundance, where all artists have the resources to thrive using the unique skill sets they embody.

Set’s short films have been televised, featured, and awarded in film festivals across the U.S. As part of the inaugural cohort of the Disruptors Fellowship by Joey Solloway’s 5050by2020 and the Center for Cultural Power, Set is developing a half-hour, TV comedy pilot about the undocumented experience. Set also directed/produced the short documentary “COVER/AGE” (2019) about healthcare expansion for undocumented adults. They served as impact producer for the art activation “In Plain Sight” by renowned artists Cassils and rafa esparza, as well as for PJ Raval’s “Call Her Ganda” which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

Since 2010, Set has been organizing around migrant justice issues from education equity to deportation defense. They are the co-founder of the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective which tackles the inequities that undocumented immigrants face in the media industry. They are the recipient of numerous fellowships including the Firelight Impact Producer Lab and Soros Justice Fellowship. They have spoken about people-centered filmmaking on panels across the country including the Film Independent Forum and the Sundance Film Festival.

Presented as part of the Visiting Artist Lecture Series in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Art. The lecture is available to the public via livestream on the Syracuse University Art Museum YouTube channel.