Mama (2024)

Original title

Inay

Directed by

Thea Loo

Genre

documentary

Country

Canada, Philippines

Runtime

56 min

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows two Filipino-Canadian adults whose mothers worked in Canada as live-in caregivers while they stayed in the Philippines. It shows how the long separations shaped their relationships and identities.

intimatebittersweetcontemplativetenderslow-burnemotionally resonantobservationalpersonal

What happens

Mama (Tagalog: Inay) is a 2024 Canadian documentary film, directed by Thea Loo. The film profiles the phenomenon of Filipina women who came to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program to support their families, focusing in particular on its impact on their children who were left behind in the Philippines. It centres principally on the stories of Jeremiah Reyes, Loo's husband and one of the film's cinematographers, and Shirley Lagman, whose mothers were both participants in the program and were thus separated from their children for many years. The film premiered at the 2024 Asian American International Film Festival, and had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival. It is slated for television broadcast on Knowledge Network in 2025. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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