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The Philippine Consulate General attended the screening organized by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) on 4 May 2018 of The Helper, an earnest, crowd-funded documentary film directed by a Hong Kong-based British filmmaker that takes a humanizing look at the lives of Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers.

Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza was present at one of recent public screenings of the 2017 full-length documentary film produced by Joanna Bowers, the first since its successful commercial run in October 2017, at the EOC office in Wong Chuk Hang in Hong Kong’s South Island District.

Ms Bowers was recognized for her work by EOC Chair Prof. Alfred Chan Cheung-ming, who also thanked climber Liza Avelino, one of 30 household service workers (HSWs) featured in the 106-minute film. Avelino’s road to becoming a passionate mountaineer and conquering the 6,189m Island Peak near Mt Everest is one of the film’s most memorable story lines.

The Helper chronicles the preparation of The Unsung Heroes, a 50-member volunteer choir comprised solely of domestic helpers, for their debut performance at Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s largest outdoor music festival, in 2015.

Bowers, who raised HK$700,000 for the film in 30 days through an online donation 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 is also seeking distributors for the film in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (leftmost) poses with Hong Kong-based British filmmaker Joanna Bowers, who directed The Helper, mountaineer and household service worker (HSW) Liza Avelino, and Indonesian labor rights activist Eni Lestari, who chairs the International Migrants Alliance, after the screening of The Helper at the Equal Copportunities Commission (EOC) office in Wong Chuk Hang in Hong Kong’s South Island District on 4 May 2018.
Filipino mountaineer Liza Avelino, whose story of courage and endurance in becoming the first HSW to conquer the 6,189 m Island Peak in the Himalayas, receives a plaque of appreciation from Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Chair Prof. Alfred Chan Cheung-ming after the screening of The Helper at the Equal Copportunities Commission (EOC) office in Wong Chuk Hang in Hong Kong’s South Island District on 4 May 2018. (Photo credit: Equal Copportunities Commission)
Hong Kong-based British filmmaker Joanna Bowers and Filipino mountaineer Liza Avelino field questions at a post-screening meet with the audience of The Helper, a 106-minute, crowd-funded documentary about foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, at the Equal Copportunities Commission (EOC) office in Wong Chuk Hang in Hong Kong’s South Island District on 4 May 2018. (Photo credit: Equal Copportunities Commission)