Empty by Design is a feature film about the struggle of identity that is experienced when living and growing up in multiple places surrounded by different cultures, and what it means to call a place home. The film takes place in Manila, Philippines and follows Samantha, a recent University Graduate who moves back home after her parents have passed away, and Eric, a Hollywood Stuntman and Body double who comes back to shoot a new film. Since moving back home, Samantha can't seem to connect with anyone in her life, friends, family, and has difficulty expressing her frustration and feeling of being back home to her sister Patricia. Similarly, Eric struggles with forming a bond with his estranged grandmother and culture, and aspects surround his job. On a night out, Eric has a brief encounter with Samantha and the two meet again later on and rekindle an acquaintance from high school that forms into an unexpected friendship and a new found meaning of what it means to be "home."