Linda Mabalot, a Filipino American activist and documentarian who created numerous Filipino American documentaries while at Visual Communications. Mabalot worked on several Filipino American documentaries and projects, including Manong (1977) and Planting Roots: a Pictorial History of Filipinos in California (1981). While working on these projects, Mabalot encountered notable Filipino-American farmworker activists, including Philip Vera Cruz and Willie Barrientos. She was renowned for supporting up-and-coming Asian American filmmakers, establishing the Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival.

Linda Mabalot was a Filipino American film maker and community activist. Mabalot was born in Fairfield, California on 1953. She grew up in Liberty Island, a small farming town in the Sacramento Delta. Her Father, Thomas Mabalot, a first generation Filipino American, leased and managed 20 acres of land on the Delta. She spent much of her youth’s years assisting her father harvest beats and tomatoes that grew on the land. Her experiences in the fields, along with the writings of Carlos Bulosan, nurtured an interest in social activism. After high school, Mabalot attended the University of California, Davis and majored in pre-medicine. During her college career, she was active in the Asian Pacific American student movement. On 1977, Mabalot joined Visual Communications, a non-profit organization “dedicated to the honest and accurate portrayals of the Asian Pacific American peoples, communities and heritage through the media arts.” When Visual Communications faced financial troubles in 1985, Mabalot rose to the position of Executive Director. Mabalot worked on several Filipino American documentaries and projects, including Manong (1977) and Planting Roots: a Pictorial History of Filipinos in California (1981). While working on these projects, Mabalot encountered notable Filipino-American farmworker activists, including Philip Vera Cruz and Willie Barrientos. She was renowned for supporting up-and-coming Asian American filmmakers, establishing the Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival. Mabalot passed away on May 19, 2003 at the age of 49.

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