Cinemalaya 15 Visions of Asia: Holding on to dreams in Still Human

Even after the gala screenings of the films in competition wrapped up, there were still other notable events that happened at the recently concluded 15th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. One of these highlights was Philippine premiere of the Hong Kong film Still Human which was part of the festival's Visions of Asia section.

Crisel Consunji

Making the screening more memorable was the presence of the its lead actress, Crisel Consunji, a Filipina actress and educator now based in Hong Kong. Crisel might be a relative unknown in the country, but she is fondly remembered by her former theater colleagues for she had her start as a performer in the musical theater scene in here before moving to Hong Kong more than a decade ago. 

Prior to the screening, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta hosted a cocktail reception at the CCP's Silangan Hall presided by its Director General Law Kin-wai. This was my first time to see and hear Crisel and was greatly impressed by how poised and eloquent she was.

Cinemalaya President Laurice Guillen, HKETO General Director Law Kin-wai,
Crisel Consunji, and CCP VP/Cinemalaya Festival Director Chris Millado

Still Human

Directed by Chan Oliver Siu Kuen, Still Human tells the story of domestic worker Evelyn Santos (Consunji) and her employer, the wheelchair bound Cheong-wing (Anthony Wong). Both were distraught, broken and seemingly hopeless when they initially meet leading to a less than ideal working relationship. Eventually once they start genuinely care for each other, they learn to face life head on again and most importantly, to pursue their once abandoned dreams.

Towards the latter third of the film, I could hear people sniffing all around me inside the darkened theater. I confess that it took an effort for me not to let the tears flow. But I somehow lost it when two audience members gave emotional feedback to Crisel during the talk back after the screening. While I able to contain my emotions throughout the film thinking that this was just a movie, the heartfelt reactions from these two were all too real and I couldn't help but be moved by them.

Crisel Consunji

A day after, I was able to see Crisel once again through an intimate gathering with her and Mr. Law along with other members of the press. What I really took away from this was that the film shed light on how much the relationships between overseas Filipino workers and their employers in Hong Kong have improved. The horror stories of abuse that were the stuff of headlines decades ago have now become the exception. But this still doesn't negate the fact that domestic workers still work very hard and make lots of sacrifices in order to provide for their families back home. And because of this, they should have their countrymen's respect and not act condescendingly towards them and the families they've left behind.

HKETO General Director Law Kin-wai and Crisel Consunji

What surprised me and the others at this gathering was that Still Human has secured commercial releases in various Asian countries except here in the Philippines. This is quite unbelievable considering that the film tells a very Filipino story and one of the leads is a Filipina.

Thank goodness that through Cinemalaya and HKETO, the film got screened in here and I was very fortunate to see it. Law Kin Wai was very pleased with the turnout and feedback that it won't be a surprise if Hong Kong films will be a regular feature in subsequent editions of Cinemalaya.