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“My Extra Special Auntie”

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One of the fantastic results of creating "The Helper" documentary was that I got to meet lots of interesting and dynamic people working in the migrant worker rights space.  The NGO Enrich (featured in the documentary) had organised a screening of the film as part of an opening event to celebrate an art installation they comissioned entitled "Beyond Myself" with artwork by members of migrant domestic workers artists collective Guhit Kalay created in conjunction with Goldsmiths College, London.

I was lucky enough to be on a Q&A panel before the film screening with one of the artists exhibiting as part of the show, Cristina Cayat and we continued talking after the panel as she showed me around the exhibition that she and her fellow artists had created.  I was really impressed with their diverse talents and the insightful creativity displayed in the work.

Chatting to Cristina I remembered an idea I'd had a while ago. One of my regrets with "The Helper" was that the film was unsuitable for children under the age of 11 (both because of duration and content) and so we'd really missed out on taking the film's message to the next generation of potential employers of migrant domestic workers.  Given the support the film had received from schools throughout Hong Kong, I had always wondered if there might be another way to reach that audience...

The idea of creating a children's picture book that she and her cohorts would illustrate came up, and we agreed to meet to discuss the potential project...

A couple of weeks later on a Sunday afternoon, the six founding members of the group Guhit Kalay were in my office with me chatting.  We talked about the major issues and difficulties they faced working for families in Hong Kong, and what they would want their young wards to know about them that they might no already be aware of.

Gradually the story's narrative began to flesh itself out; We wanted to explore the experiences of migrant domestic workers in a way that a child could understand, as the close bond between domestic workers and their wards is a unique and complex dynamic.

We felt it was important to clarify that the presence of a domestic workers within a family does not replace a parent, but that they are instead an affectionate paid employee and an individual with a family, dreams and financial goals of their own.

I got to work on a first draft of the story and the women began some initial concept artwork.

We met again on a Sunday a few weeks later (the artists one day off per week from their domestic worker jobs) and I presented my text to them, and took notes on their feedback, and they shared some initial sketches they had created.

This process continued over the course of many months and gradually refined itself down so that two of the artists took the lead on the illustrations.

Noemi Manguerra's talent as an artist was evident immediately, as she was able to create work in a huge range of mediums as shown in her immense body of work.  But her instinctive illustration style became the obvious choice for our story, creating our family of characters in a very unique warm,  style.

Cristina Cayat (who I had first met on the Q&A panel) took on the role of finishing and dressing the characters using her dynamic sense of colour and in-depth knowlege and passion for traditional Filipino textiles.

Over the course of a year or so, we met monthly to share progress, until finally we had a story with pictures to match and we compiled them together as a book.  We also translated the text into traditional Chinese in order to be able to reach a local Hong Kong audience of readers.

We're currently in search of a publisher for the book, and were thrilled to recently be shortlisted for the Hong Kong Human Rights Art Prize.

 

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In production…

I haven't posted any updates on here for a while as I've had my head down focused on filming a new feature documentary for the last almost year or so...

The film follows three very different Hong Kongers who are innovating in the sustainable fashion and textile space. Their stories have taken us from Hong Kong to China, Singapore and Taiwan for filming seeing fascinating things and meeting incredibly interesting people who are changing the world (hopefully) for the better.

Like every project these days - I've learned so much during production.  It's been heartbreaking and incredibly inspiring and I really hope we're in the process of creating something powerful and potentially impactful!

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Hong Kong Confidential Podcast

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I was thrilled to bits when the lovely Jules Hannaford invited me to be a guest on her podcast Hong Kong Confidential to talk about "The Helper" documentary, being a filmmaker and a mum in Hong Kong.

You can listen to our conversation here:

Hong Kong Confidential is a podcast designed to educate and entertain. Jules Hannaford interviews interesting people in Hong Kong about their lives, personal journeys and secrets. Guests share their wisdom, experiences and insights with our audience. Guests include a doula, a dating and relationship coach, community leaders, LGBTQ+ activists, human rights defenders, abuse survivors, psychologists, life coaches, recovered addicts, authors, a fire fighter, a matchmaker, accomplished business women and many more. They all have fascinating stories to share.

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The Helper now onboard on Cathay Pacific – The Vocal Minorities

Super excited about this – as its the very first phase of the international release for The Helper (and an iconic Hong Kong brand) who are supporting the film and its messaging by choosing to feature the film on their inflight entertainment system and a really lovely article about the film in Discovery magazine’s June edition.

 

Can’t wait for my flight to Italy in August to get a selfie with the seatback screen!!!

 

 

You can check out the article online here: http://discovery.cathaypacific.com/vocal-minority-domestic-helpers-performed-clockenflap/

My first podcast experience with Hashtag Impact

#Impact podcast featuring Joanna Bowers talking about The Helper documentary

I was honored when asked by the very eloquent and charismatic host of the #Impact podcast series Regina Larko if I would be her featured guest for an episode to talk about how The Helper documentary came to be and the ongoing impact the film is having.  The interview itself was so much fun – connecting with another Hong Kong mum in media and sharing stories about my passions for telling women’s stories and my hopes and dreams for the film and its impact. I hope you enjoy listening!

Check out the link below to listen to the episode:

#49: The maternal sacrifice of Migrant Domestic Workers.

Joanna Bowers says "anyone can have an impact if I can" talking about The Helper documentary on #Impact podcast

But there’s more #Impact podcast…

I hope if you take the time to check out this well produced episode you’ll go on to enjoy the rest of the #Impact series featuring a host of incredible dynamic women having impact in Hong Kong. I love Regina’s tagline –

A podcast about stuff that matters – https://www.hashtagimpact.com

Listen on the #impact podcast website: 

 

My thoughts on moving forwards from #metoo

#MeToo in 2017

2017 finally exposed the behind the scenes activities of Harvey Weinstein and his cronies publicly  As a woman working in the film industry everyone has been asking if I had a “Harvey story.”  Of course I did,  and  others…

When #metoo hit the headlines last year,  I was so pleased that we’ve finally admitted the problem exists.  But now how to use the #metoo movement to generate something positive from something so negative? I started reflecting on how 2017 was a really powerful year for me in terms of empowering other women…

In October 2017 my feature documentary The Helper  thrust the women of Hong Kong’s migrant domestic worker population into the spotlight and for the first time really highlighted both their potential and achievements under the most challenging circumstances.  The response to the film has been overwhelming! Since we premiered in October my inboxes are constantly full of incredible messages of kindness and support for the film and the women we feature in it.  We’ve changed lives with the generosity and opportunities this exposure has brought and that’s been very powerful to watch. I’ve also learnt a lot from it.

 

1) Shine a light

The power of this spotlight has made me realize that we need to do that for each other more!   Beyond featuring as many awesome women as possible in my filmed work, I’m now resolved to make an even more conscious effort to promote and praise women that I know or discover.  Sharing someone’s social posting might seem like a really small action, but my hope is that the more we raise each other up in little ways, that effect will slowly amplify.

Joanna Bowers with stars of The Helper Nurul and Leila
One of the stars of The Helper documentary Leila (left) was given a full scholarship to one of Hong Kong’s best pre-schools as a result of her story’s visibility in the film. I was then able to help the school to fill 8 more available spots it had for children of asylum seekers by connecting them to Pathfinders and Justice Centre.

2) Recommend each other

Similar to shining a light – take the action to recommend a woman you know.  Whether this is in response to a specific request, or simply shooting over someone awesome’s work or resume to someone they might be a fit for at some point. It strengthens networks and increases potential.

Liza Avelino on stage at Tedx TinHau Women
Another star of The Helper documentary –  Liza Avelino enthralled the audience with her story on stage at Tedx Tin Hau Women.  I knew she has the goal of becoming a motivational speaker so suggested the organizers include her in their lineup.

3) Take a risk

Give people opportunities. Take calculated risks and people will mostly rise to the occasion and wow you.  Just a few years ago Annika Feign the editor of The Helper was working with me as an intern. I found out she was a great editor by accident, then after just a couple of short-form projects realized she was insanely talented.  She hadn’t cut a feature before, but nor had I directed one so we dove into the project together and the result was fantastic!

 

4) Don’t be afraid to ask

I’ve become very good this year at going out on a limb and asking for something that might seem a bit of a stretch.  It might seem daunting, but it’s really easy if the beneficiary is someone else and/or a worthy cause!  You would be surprised how happy people are to share their skills or ability to help empower others if they have the time and bandwidth.

 

And finally…

I’m not suggesting these little steps are going to change the world – but then Rome wasn’t built in a day! Better to be saying #metoo to actively being involved in finding a solution.

 

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SCMP: Pain, sacrifice and hope – inspiring Hong Kong moments from 2017

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2126037/pain-sacrifice-and-hope-inspiring-hong-kong-moments-2017

SCMP article about Hong Kong's heroes of 2017

The end of 2017 is upon us, and every passing year brings about its share of memorable stories, events and newsmakers. In the past 12 months we have seen people from all corners of Hong Kong make invaluable contributions to the community.

 

When British filmmaker Joanna Bowers moved to Hong Kong six years ago from Los Angeles, she expected to see luxury shops and lots of hurried people. But instead what most struck her was domestic helpers on their Sunday day off. She decided their stories needed to be told, and after raising just under HK$700,000 in 30 days through an online donation campaign, she funded The Helper documentary. It premiered in May and was shown at AMC Pacific Place cinema in October. The film follows the daily lives of five foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong and highlights the sometimes harsh realities behind their happy, smiling faces.