Documentary Revisits Lost Filipino Settlement in Louisiana
The 26-minute film "Settling St. Malo" explores a Filipino fishing village destroyed by storms in the early 20th century.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Documentary
The documentary "Settling St. Malo" premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival, recounting the history of a Filipino fishing village on Lake Borgne in St. Bernard Parish. It will be screened November 21 during the Southern Screen Festival in downtown Lafayette.
Why it matters
The film highlights a largely overlooked chapter of Louisiana history, when the state had the largest Filipino population in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It brings renewed attention to a community that was erased by storms.
The documentary runs 26 minutes and was directed by Virgile Beddock, an associate professor at UL Lafayette. St. Malo lies roughly 5 miles from New Orleans, and the film is slated to screen November 21 in Lafayette.
The players
Randy Gonzales
A UL Lafayette English professor whose research and poetry form the basis of the documentary, and whose great-grandfather led the New Orleans Filipino community in the 1930s.
Virgile Beddock
An associate professor at UL Lafayette who directed the documentary "Settling St. Malo."
The details
The documentary combines poetry, archival footage, reenactments and visits to the marshland where St. Malo once stood, with research and poetry by UL Lafayette English professor Randy Gonzales. University students and alumni worked on the production as actors and crew.
Timeline
19th and early 20th centuries: Louisiana holds the largest U.S. Filipino population.
Early 20th century: storms destroy the St. Malo settlement.
2023: Gonzales publishes his award-winning poetry collection "Settling St. Malo."
November 21, 2026: the documentary screens at the Southern Screen Festival in Lafayette.
Historical Record
The film recovers the story of St. Malo, a Filipino fishing village on Lake Borgne that was destroyed by storms in the early 20th century. Its revival follows Gonzales' 2023 poetry collection on the same subject, which UL Press published and recognized with an award.
Viewers can see the film in person at the Southern Screen Festival in downtown Lafayette on November 21. The extraction does not confirm any streaming or broader release plans.
The takeaway
Local history often survives in fragments, and projects that combine poetry, archives and fieldwork can recover communities that storms and time have erased. Readers interested in Louisiana's diverse past can seek out screenings and publications that preserve these stories.
What happens next
The documentary is scheduled to screen November 21, 2026, during the Southern Screen Festival in downtown Lafayette.
Further reading
Explore more Louisiana documentaries to see how filmmakers are documenting the state's overlooked histories.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Advocate.
