Four videos made by graduates of Hong Kong University’s Domestic Workers Empowerment Project (DWEP) will be screened at the 5th International CellPhilm Festival to be held at McGill University in Montreal, Canada on Dec. 7.
1) “My Fluffy Friend” by Analyn Soriano, about her daily walk with a dog, which has helped her overcome homesickness;
2) “Peace of Mind” by Gegerma Montero, about going to church every Sunday no matter how many activities she has, because it is the only place where she finds peace;
3) “Precious Time to Rest” by Daisy Valenzuela, about getting a nap on the bus while traveling from one destination to other so she can rest in between errands;
4) “Mind So Busy” by Loria Sue about a fellow DWEP student who missed her tram stop because she got into a long conversation over the phone with a friend.
All the videos were shot using a cellphone, and are meant to show how Filipino migrant workers face their day-to-day challenges while working away from their family. Each managed to compress a meaningful message into a video lasting between 60 - 90 seconds.
Everyone who participated in the search for outstanding videos to show at the festival completed a workshop on videography conducted in February by the Voices of Women in Media of HKU’s Department of Sociology.