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In the romance-drama "This Time," Sebastien Tobler tells the story of two high school sweethearts who reunite in Los Angeles 23 years after they were forced to separate in Jakarta.

As a son of a diplomat, the writer-director grew up in various countries like Indonesia, England, Switzerland where his father is from, and the Philippines, his mother's homeland.

"This Time" is Tobler's first feature film. In it, he tackles some of his complicated feelings about being uprooted, the challenges of being biracial, and what home means to immigrants.

"I've always loved cinema, but I never thought of it as a form of expression," Tobler said. "I grew up traveling a lot. I was always very interested in photography. I was always very interested in the process of cinema. I started to realize that just the nature of capturing cinema, it's like capturing memories. So growing up the way I did, capturing memories is always a hard thing, it’s always hard to hold on to."

Tober's Filipino mother, the fitness trainer and author Cecilia Bacquiran Tobler, grew up in Taguig in Metro Manila.

He said he learned so much about working hard from her example.

"When you’re growing up as a rootless, sort of constantly high-mobility kind of lifestyle, the good news is that there’s always a Filipino somewhere, right?" Tobler said. "Everywhere we went, there's a Filipino community and they're always warm and welcoming. So growing up I leaned towards my Filipino culture a lot more than my Swiss one."

He added: "There's this fire. There's this urgency about being Filipino in whatever you do, it's just like, you're all in. Filipinos, you give us a drop of hope, and we'll make it last for like 100 miles, right?"

While "This Time" is going through the festival circuit, Tobler said he looks forward to making other stories including one that's partly based on his relationship with his Swiss grandfather.

The current writers' strike has affected many writers' work, but he believes in the fight for fairness.

He added that underrepresented talents have a weapon against artificial intelligence that's being touted by some as a possible replacement for some creative talents.

"I keep in mind that we all have very specific perspectives in the world. A.I. relies on what is established," Tobler said. "Well, guess what's not established? Underrepresented voices. There's no way. So in a sense, like, yes, I'm railing against the whole AI thing. But at the same time, you know, this is where we can shine. It is not in the algorithm."

Tobler continued: "While I am conflicted, and I'm not into it, I am definitely excited because if we're at the point now, where we need to rely on machines to tell stories, well, guess what, there's this whole world of people that haven't had a chance to contribute yet. And that's what's gonna stand out in the world."

"This Time" also stars Filipino-American actors Mitch Narito and Earl Baylon.

It will be screened at the Asian American International Film Festival on July 29.