By Roy Mabasa
The British director and producer of the feature-length documentary film “The Helper” wants the movie to have wider reach among policymakers, current and future employers and the Filipino public in order to “shine a spotlight” on the courage and sacrifices of domestic workers.
In this picture taken on September 5, 2017, Joanna Bowers, Hong Kong-based writer, and director of the new documentary "The Helper" poses during an interview with AFP in Hong Kong. (AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACE / MANILA BULLETIN)
Film director Joanna Bowers met with officials of the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong to explore ways on how to expand the film’s audience, including with the 220,000-strong Filipinos in the territory and possibly in cinemas in Philippine and Indonesian theaters.
The movie, which had a sold-out 11-week run in Hong Kong cinemas in 2017, narrates diverse stories of all the migrant domestic worker population in Hong Kong, including Filipinos, and their contributions to the society.
“We wanted to shine a spotlight on an invisible sector of Hong Kong society,” Bowers said during her recent meeting with Consul General Antonio Morales at the Philippine consulate office in the territory.
These women domestic helpers, Bowers continued, “made the impossible decision to migrate for work and leave their families behind.”
“They deserve their strength and sacrifice to be acknowledged and respected,” said the British filmmaker who was previously based in London, Dubai and Los Angeles before settling in Hong Kong in 2011.
The publicly-funded documentary film also featured the Unsung Heroes, a 50-member choir of Filipino domestic workers, and their challenging journey to perform on stage at Hong Kong’s popular Clockenflap music festival.
Among the highlights of the film were the stories of two Filipino domestic helpers Liza Avelino, who is a mountaineer in her spare time, and Nurul Hidayah a single mother with a harrowing story of survival.
To fund the making of the movie, Bowers raised HK$700,000 (US$89,000) in 30 days on a Kickstarter campaign, premiered the film in May 2017 at the Asia Society Hong Kong, with the support of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau and investment bank Goldman Sachs.
She said “The Helper” film has been made available on videos on demand (VOD) aboard Cathay Pacific flights and for pre-ordering on iTunes and will be released for purchase on DVD and BluRay, and VOD and iVOD distribution platforms internationally starting on July 24.