Notes from a Wayward Son

In his first memory of his father, Adrian De Leon is four years old. Sitting in front of his family home high above the street in Manila, Philippines, he sees Tatay, a stern man, ascend the stairs before him. Despite Tatay’s pedigree as a college-educated military officer, the best place of employment for a Filipino man trying to support his family is abroad.

A year later, Tatay uproots his family to Canada, where they start a new life in Toronto’s eastern district of Scarborough. While Tatay struggles to find steady full-time work, Adrian learns English, makes friends at school, and begins to drift from the Filipino world his father is fighting to preserve. In an effort to reclaim purpose and pride, Tatay opens a dojo where he teaches a little-known Filipino martial art called kuntaw. The dojo becomes both sanctuary and battleground, a gathering place for the Filipino diaspora and the place where a father attempts to train and discipline his son. As Adrian grows into a restless, defiant young man grappling with masculinity, faith, and the weight of expectations, the tension between father and son sharpens into open conflict.

Set against the backdrop of imperialism and revolution, Notes from a Wayward Son delivers a fierce meditation on inheritance and rebellion, asking what sons owe their fathers—and what it costs to forgive them.