Filipino-Australian filmmaker James J. Robinson is making headlines for taking his first feature film First Light to the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film introduces audiences to the story of an elderly nun who faces many difficult moral questions in the Philippines. It also delves into important topics like colonialism, faith, institutional corruption. For those unaware, the film – which stars Ruby Ruiz and Kare Adia in the lead roles – was premiered at the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival. Ruby plays Sister Yolanda – a nun whose life changes drastically when a young construction worker dies under suspicious circumstances. The shocking incident led him to question the church and community he had served for decades. Excerpts from an interview…
First Light is your feature directorial debut. Obviously this is an important milestone that comes with significant responsibility and expectations. How are you managing this professionally and personally?
It’s a strange feeling. I think there is a lot of pressure on the first film. And there was pressure to try to make everything absolutely perfect for a long time. And then at a certain point, I think I zoomed out a little bit and thought I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to make a lifelong career of this.’ What is more important for this movie is to learn and watch it with an open mind. Since this is my first film, there was a lot of pressure on me to make sure I was speaking with the honest voice of a writer. But for the most part, I approached it with an open mind and knew I was here to learn.
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This is not the only film I will make. So I just needed to approach this medium as a disciple. To be honest, I’ve spent years trying to write something that I felt was worth telling in such a grand way. So yes, it’s been a very beautiful process.
The film recently had its European premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which is a huge milestone. With a diverse and international audience, the film will now be exposed to a vast range of audiences. What kind of reactions are you expecting? Are there any particular markets you are considering? Do you see India as a strong market for such a project?
yes of course. The story is hyper-specific to the Philippines and the setting. But when I was writing the story, I had to think about what I could bring to the world of cinema and storytelling through my background – which is being half Australian and half Filipino, rather than seeing it as a disadvantage to storytelling and that I don’t have a full sense of what it means to always live in the Philippines. This means I can see everything I know about the Philippines from a universal perspective.
I think that’s something that applies across all kinds of national boundaries. That comment – ​​what I was trying to highlight about religion and morality and how those things can be co-opted by those in power – is special. In all our premieres so far it has proven to me that this is a lesson that is universal. In Rotterdam, the response has been incredible. It has a lot to say about the metaphor and meaning of filmmaking. When we were in Morocco, there were a lot of questions about morality and what it means to be religious. I think it’s a story that translates everywhere.
When it comes to South Asia, one of my favorite films in recent years has been All We Imagine Is Life. And I think about how all these films and films like that one can resonate. It’s very specific to Mumbai – where they shot it.
It felt like I could feel the stories they were telling, I could feel Payal, it really translated to me as an audience in Australia as well. If we say something that is universal, that is more profound about what it means to be human, it doesn’t matter where we’re premiering the film or where their audience will be because what it means to be human is something that we question everywhere around the world.
You just mentioned Mumbai. Do you have any special or unforgettable experiences that you would like to share with your fans in India?
I mean, there’s a lot about the history of spirituality when it comes to India and that region of the world. I think there is a lot about meditation that is inherently embedded in the history of India and that region of the world. There are such knowledge systems in India that even today, it remains the most important thing for us as humans to know about them. Even when I was making this film there was a lot about meditation and slowing down. And I think spirituality – when it connects mind and body and in slowing down and knowing that the universe is present within us when we slow down and think – is present in the history of India. I feel it very much and then it naturally colors the way I direct my films.
What have been the most important lessons or key takeaways for you as a filmmaker while directing First Light?
The job of storytelling isn’t always to answer big questions about what it means to be human. It’s about asking those questions. So when I was writing this film, I asked myself a lot of questions about how do I maintain a sense of faith in a world where faith is being used to fuel very oppressive power structures around the world. How can I maintain my faith and my connection to the land despite all this? While making this film and raising those questions, I was forced to think deeply within myself about it. The biggest lesson from making this movie is, I think, when you’re trying to tell a story like this, you really have to surrender or take control.
Like I have a camera there and I have actors and I have lighting. At the end of the day, it is up to the weather to decide how our day will turn out. We are in tune with the mood people will wake up with. My biggest learning was honestly dedication and learning how to create something when you’re not completely in control. As a director, I like to think that I have control over everything. But as a human being I can never be like that. I surrendered to the filmmaking process and tried to create a story with what I was given, not with what I could force.
First Light also stars Ruby and Keg in lead roles. Can you tell us about your casting process? What were you looking for before you narrated the script to them and got their consent?
While writing the character of Sister Yolanda, I thought as much as possible. I didn’t know specifically what I wanted it to look like. And then I found a video of Ruby Ruiz when she won an award at a festival called Cinemalaya in the Philippines. There was something about her face, her composure and the way she carried herself that I knew would add infinite dimensions to this character of Sister Yolanda. So, yes, I think it was honestly finding him from YouTube videos. I’d heard stories of Lulu Wang directing her in an Amazon series Expats with Nicole Kidman. I also heard that Ruby brought food to the set every day and it made an impact. And so instead of trying to write these characters that I was trying to impose and bring upon my actors, I wanted to write characters that I could make as broad as possible. When I choose my actors, I want to bring out their characteristics, their mannerisms, their own personality in the characters they have to play. And I think Ruby naturally had many of the qualities that I saw in Sister Yolanda. Casting him added complexity to that role.