‘Remittance:’ A film about the lives of domestic workers

“Remittance” is a story about a young Filipina domestic worker in Singapore trying to cope with the hardships and abuse faced by low-wage migrant workers while balancing living for herself versus living for her family.

The film stars Angela Barotia as Marie, who works as a domestic worker and moonlights as an actress in her spare time. She told a Singapore paper she earns $600 a month and is fortunate to have employers who allow her time to pursue acting. The directors are Patrick Daly and Joel Fendelman.

The film seeks to  raise awareness about the lives of migrant workers in Asia, according to a press statement.

Here’s a synopsis: When Marie takes a job as a maid in Singapore to support her family in the Philippines, she trades one set of hardships for another. When her husband back home abandons her family, she needs to choose between her personal aspirations and her family responsibilities.

“Remittance” follows Marie, a Filipina domestic worker who struggles to cope with demanding employers, long hours of work, and separation from her family. Breaking from the conventional image of maids as exploited labor, the story explores the transformations Marie goes through as a woman dealing with conflicting obligations and aspirations.

Marie  finds work with a wealthy expatriate family as a maid. Her days are spent cooking, cleaning and caring for 5-year-old Jack – an exhausting schedule that is compounded by the challenges of adjusting to a new environment and living away from her family for the first time. She has to grind it out to support her family and pay her daughter’s college tuition.

Marie’s life becomes more bearable when she falls in with a group of more experienced maids who show her the ropes and introduce her to the world of Singapore’s low paid migrant workers. She spends her off days with her new friends, enjoying a taste of freedom, and getting involved in activities offered by an NGO at her church.

Everything is upended when she is told by her employer that her first eight months of salary is being withheld to pay the employment agency that arranged the job – a bill she was not anticipating. With tuition bills piling up and constant pressures to send more money to her family, Marie is forced to sneak out at night to work as a hostess in a karaoke bar, entertaining men and fending off their sexual advances.

Marie learns how to compartmentalize her life – shifting between maid, mother and bar-girl, as she stoically works to care for her employer’s family. Her triumph at finally paying off her debt is stolen when her daughter Rosa tells her that Edwardo, her husband is seeing another woman in the Philippines and misusing the money she is sending home. Frustrated and hurt, Marie cuts him off and puts her daughter Rosa in charge of the family finances. Emboldened, Marie confronts her husband and tells him that she is moving on. All of her plans are disrupted when Rosa calls and says that she is pregnant. Driven by guilt and reminded of why she came to Singapore in the first place, Marie breaks her contract and goes back home.

The filmmakers

Patrick Daly is a trained anthropologist and environmental scientist, with a PhD. from the University of Oxford. He splits his time between teaching and academic research at the National University of Singapore and independent filmmaking.

Joel Fendelman comes from a film background and has worked 10 years in the film industry in New York City producing content for companies such as A&E, PBS, American Express, Ovation TV, Allure. MTV. His films have shown around the world at prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Chicago, Miami. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Film at the University of Texas.

“Remittance”  can be screened  either through Kanopy or through this streaming platform.