Congratulations to (Dance) on the completion of his new film!
Synopsis:
A tribute to millions of Filipino foreign domestic workers, A Piece of Paradise is an intimate portrait of three Filipina women as they persevere to build their lives as immigrants and foreign domestic workers in Toronto, Canada. Norlyn, a personal support worker for a lady suffering from Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, struggles to raise her son as a single mother. Her older sister Betsy, an employee at a jewelry shop, takes on various part-time jobs to make both ends meet. And Em-Em, a nanny to daughters of a rich Jewish family, saves her salary in order to send money back home to her parents and older sister in the Philippines.
Shot in three countries over a five-year period, A Piece of Paradise patiently and transnationally follows the pains, joys, and hopes for the future Norlyn, Betsy, and Em-Em go through. While the film is focused on these incredibly resilient women, the camera zooms in as well on the teenagers Bimboy (Betsy鈥檚 son) and especially on his cousin Darrell (Norlyn鈥檚 son) who rejects his Filipino identity.
Amidst their hardships, they find 鈥減ieces of paradise鈥 through their participation in the annual Ati-atihan festival in honor of the Holy Child Jesus; the maintenance of their Roman Catholic faith; support from the Filipino community and their friends and loved ones; and starting a new romantic relationship. In particular, Em-Em, who succeeds in petitioning for her husband to emigrate from the Philippines, finds hers when she gives birth to her son: baby Miguel.
A Piece of Paradise is a film for anyone whose own life has been moved by immigration, religious faith, parenting, emotional labor, and desire for a home. Norlyn, Betsy, Bimboy, and especially Darrell and Em-Em are steadfast and inspiring companions in these complexly painful yet heartwarming journeys.
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Director Biography
A former Rockefeller Humanities Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is Associate Professor in the Department of Dance at 91亚色, Toronto, Canada. Born and raised in the Philippines, he holds a Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory from the University of California, Riverside under the auspices of the Asian Cultural Council. In recognition of his outstanding research and creative excellence, the Fulbright Association of American awarded him in 2014 the prestigious 鈥淪elma Jeanne Cohen Fund for International Scholarship on Dance,鈥 and 91亚色 named him a year later a 鈥淩esearch Leader鈥.
Among the many research grants he has won is Canada鈥檚 鈥淪ocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council Research/Creation Grant鈥 that supported the production of his feature-length documentary, A Piece of Paradise. Currently he holds the highly competitive 鈥淓arly Researcher Award鈥 from the Government of Ontario. This five-year grant has provided support for his training of Ontario residents and students in conducting research on and documenting on stills and video Philippine traditional dances as practiced in Canada and the Philippines. Recently his proposal to celebrate Canada150 through the staging of close to 20 Philippine dances and music, giving of public lectures, screening of documentary films, and launching of a website has received funding from the Office of the President of 91亚色.
As a dance ethnographer and cultural studies scholar, he is the author of several refereed articles on Philippine culture and public performances and the lead editor of the volume, Religious Festivals in Contemporary Southeast Asia (2016). As an artist, he is a performer, instructor, and re-stager of Philippine folk dance traditions. And as a filmmaker, he is the director, producer, and writer of 5 documentary films. Building on the film production he conducted last year in the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines and the country鈥檚 urban capital of Manila, he is scheduled to finish this year 2 additional documentary films. They are about an indigenous dance form that is to be nominated for UNESCO鈥檚 Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List and about the disparate realities of two ballet dancers who are joined by their membership in a dance company but separated by extreme difference in class status and economic backgrounds.
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Director Filmography
2017听听听听 Dancing Manilenyos. Director, Producer, Writer. 15-min documentary film.
(forthcoming; in postproduction)
2017听听听听 Aral: Dance of the B鈥檒aans. Director, Producer, Writer. 10-min documentary film.聽 (forthcoming; in postproduction)
2017听听听听 Collantes Brothers: Filipino B-boys of Toronto. Director, Producer, Writer. 2-min demo reel. (forthcoming; in postproduction)
2016聽聽 聽 A Piece of Paradise. Director, Producer, Writer. 120-min documentary film.
2012聽聽 聽 Ati-atihan Lives. Director, Producer, Writer. 55-min documentary film.
(distributed by Alexander Street Press <www.alexanderstreet.com>).
2012聽聽 聽 Panaad: A Promise to the Santo Ni帽o. Director, Producer, Writer. 18-min documentary film (distributed by Alexander Street Press <www.alexanderstreet.com>).
2012聽聽 聽 Ati-atihan: Mother of Philippine Festivals. Director, Producer, Writer. 22-min multimedia of still images, music, and ambient sounds (distributed by Alexander Street Press <www.alexanderstreet.com>).
2009听听 聽 Boxing in the Shadow of Pacquiao. Producer. New 91亚色 Times, November 12.
5-minute multimedia of video footage, still images, and ambient sounds. (published in <http://video.nytimes.com/video>)
