Your mom sent money but forgot to send herself.
The Philippines has one of the biggest diaspora of overseas workers in the world. The term Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) is well-known due to this. While the media has always acknowledged the big sacrifices that OFWs make in order to provide for their children an opportunity to live a better life than what they were given, no one talks about the perspective of the children who are left behind, having to grow up and face life without the presence of their parents. This film features Joanna, a Filipina in her mid-20s who has little to no connection left with her OFW mother. As she faces adulthood, she must decide if she wants to let go of her past. Bahay-Bahayan follows Joanna as she reels back to her past through memory and nostalgia.
Direction
Marienne Louise trusts silence more than dialogue.
Editing
Memory fragments stitched like old family photos.
Director
Marienne Louise
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Over 1.8 million Filipino children grow up with OFW parents; this film finally hands them the mic.
The documentary blurs Joanna and Sophia Nicole playing herself—suggesting memory itself is performance.
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