Sonia Desai Rayka finds unexpected inspiration in limitations

Sonia Desai Rayka said her short film “Ohio Is in the Heart” took shape in part around the limitations under which it was created.

“There were limitations at pretty much every stage, like only filming with one family, and only filming for one weekend,” said Rayka, whose film centers on a mother and daughter advocating for the passage of Ohio House Bill 171, which would expand the curricula on history and culture to include more about the history, contributions, and experiences of cultural minority groups. “And then also the length of the film itself, because it had to be three minutes. … And it felt daunting at first, because the initial fear was there were so many places where something might not work. … But in the end, it really showed me you can learn a lot about your storytelling ability when you place limitations on yourself.”

“Ohio Is in the Heart” centers on a conversation between Lisa Factora-Borchers and her daughter, Rosie. Filmed by Rayka in March 2024, the short opens with a scene in which Lisa utilizes a globe to show her daughter how far her grandparents, Lolo and Lola, had to travel in emigrating from the Philippines to New York City. It then shifts to footage of Rosie’s testimony, where she tells Ohio legislators of her desire for her friends to learn more about her family background and “especially my grandparents.” In the closing moments, the film returns again to mother and daughter, with the two discussing the importance of using one’s voice to bring about change.

Coming into the project, Rayka said she had particular questions in mind that she intended to ask the two, but she pivoted once in the room, leaving space for their conversation to unravel more naturally. “And there were some things that unfolded that I just couldn’t have anticipated,” said Rayka, whose film will screen as part of Ohio Shorts, curated by the author, poet, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib and taking place at the Wexner Center for the Arts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. (A full lineup of films can be seen by clicking here.) “Working in documentary … you have to be very malleable and present. And you have to be paying attention to what is happening, because if you’re focused on what you anticipated, or on what you thought the conversation would be, you could miss out on the beauty of what’s actually happening in front of you.”

The Wexner Center screening will serve as something of a full-circle moment for the New York-based Rayka, who attended undergrad at Ohio State University and credits her budding film career to the education she received attending movie screenings at the Wex. “I accidentally became a film minor, because all my friends were film majors and I just kept taking classes,” said Rayka, who expressed dismay over a recent Matter News report that Ohio State development plans could lead to the razing of the Wex’s film theater. “As someone who really grew up going there and knowing how much it informed my ability to be a filmmaker, I just think it would be so devastating … for future students to lose that space.”

Ohio State development plans fuel concerns about the future of the Wexner Center film theater

Rayka said she harbored an interest in film from a young age, initially considering a career as a screenwriter. While enrolled at Ohio State, however, she gravitated toward the humanities, majoring in American Ethnic Studies – a field from which she began to feel more distant the more immersed in it she became. “I was reading these big, heady things that at the end of the day just didn’t make that much sense to me,” said Rayka, who began to investigate career paths where she could more clearly focus her energies on a singular idea: How can we make our lives better together? “And for me, film and in particular documentary became this really clear avenue for achieving that, at least in some capacity. Or if not achieving it, at least attempting to educate and ultimately bridge people together.”

At the point in time when Rayka filmed “Ohio Is in the Heart,” she said she had become disillusioned by electoral politics, her sense of disconnect fueled by watching a United States-funded genocide unfold in Gaza under then-President Joe Biden. “And one thing that’s always made me feel more connected to the world, or more connected to the idea of making the world better, is children,” said Rayka, who viewed this project not only as a chance to tell a needed immigrant story but also as a means to prevent a sense of hopelessness from consuming her. “It gave me a chance to work with people who are actively working to make our lives better, and it helped to remind me what we’re fighting for.”