Hundreds of domestic workers, VF partners, staff and volunteers trooped to Cinema 10 of SM Megamall last November 24 to catch the advanced screening of Unitel Pictures� �Inang Yaya.� Read on for more reviews of "Inang Yaya"

VF sponsors “Inang Yaya” screening

The film is about Norma (played by Maricel Soriano), a domestic worker who divides her time and attention between her young ward, Louise (Erica Oreta) and her own daughter, Ruby (Tala Santos). Norma has to finally make a choice when her employers asked her to migrate with them to another country while her daughter has to be left behind.

Soriano graced the screening with Oreta and Santos to personally meet the VF staff, volunteers, guests and partners. International Labour Organization (ILO) Director for Sub-Regional Office in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Linda Wirth, “Inang Yaya” directors Pablo Biglang-Awa and Veronica Velasco, who also wrote the script, were present during the event.

Proceeds of the screening went to the construction of the new VF safehouse.

Produced by Unitel Pictures, “Inang Yaya” also had its premiere showing at SM Cinemas 2 and 3 in Cebu City last November 27.

Why advocates appreciate “Inang Yaya”
(A Review)

For a typical Pinoy moviegoer, “Inang Yaya” is a heart-tugging film that deviates from the tried and tested formula of a typical tearjerker, and likes it nevertheless.

This directorial debut of the husband and wife tandem of Pablo Biglang-Awa Jr. and Veronica Velasco (who also wrote the script) offers a plot that is simple yet real.

Maricel Soriano plays Norma, a domestic work whose main responsibility is to play nanny to her young ward, Louise (played by Erika Ureta). Ironically, while she is able to care for another couple’s kid, she is unable to attend to her own daughter (Tala Santos) who stays in the province with her mother (Marita Zobel). When the grandmother passes away, Norma is forced to bring Ruby with her to Manila to stay with her in her employers’ house. The conflict begins as Norma is torn between her own flesh and blood and the child she had learned to love as her own.

Minus all the hysteria, the acting is remarkably subtle yet deeply felt. We can see right through the characters as a realistic depiction of our own selves. On top of these, the movie brings back good family values that are usually missing nowadays --- in other Filipino films and even in our own homes.

An advocacy tool
Deviating from its usual advocacy strategies, Visayan Forum utilized the powerful impact of “Inang Yaya” to promote awareness on domestic work realities that are often overlooked in our society.

The movie has the elements that make it an effective advocacy medium. It gives life to the usual tales of hard work and sacrifices of our kasambahay, particularly, of the “yayas” or the nannies who provide their wards with their presence, love and care while filling the gap when parents momentarily leave the household to fulfill other obligations.

One of Philippine cinema’s finest actresses, Maricel Soriano, convincingly portraying the role of Norma, is a strong pull factor of the film. This may not be local cinema’s first “yaya” movie but Soriano’s presence in the film as the main character has made it a crowd drawer. This factor, along with “Inang Yaya’s” wide reach (it was shown in Manila and in other parts of the country), makes it an apt tool for massive advocacy.

Content-wise, the film brings out the issues without being confrontational or preachy. In one scene, for example, Norma had to wash the dishes till the wee hours of the morning after coming home from the province. It appears that the whole household is overly dependent on her that no one else takes over the task while she is away.

Though the movie focuses on her conflicting roles as mom and nanny, Norma actually does multi tasks for the entire household. Apart from taking care of her ward, Louise (Erika Oreta) and later on, of the sick Lola Toots (Liza Lorena), she also has to single-handedly do other chores as a full time helper to the family; typical of a stay-in, full time kasambahay.

Norma may be overworked but she never complained. Though she may be financially compensated, still, it is not enough to sustain her daughter Ruby’s (Tala Santos) needs and whims. And though her employer is kind enough to send her daughter to the same private school as Louise’s, that also drives the child to adjust to a new environment where she is not fully accepted. Thus, Ruby later on shares the emotional burden of her mom especially when she gets discriminated by her schoolmates for being a child of a domestic worker.

But what really drove almost everyone to tears was the scene where Norma cried over her daughter’s rejection of a pair of shoes with a fake brand. Minus her usual historic style of acting, Maricel was at her best in this scene. While silently going through the pain of her own daughter’s rejection, Maricel’s subtle acting touches the emotion, you can actually empathize with her character on screen.

Watching “Inang Yaya” allows us to first do just that -- empathize with the characters: laugh at the witty remarks of Ruby about Lola Toots, cry with Louise when she blames herself for the rift between her yaya and lola, or maybe, feel sorry for Norma when her own daughter was falsely accused of stealing. You can even empathize with employers like the matriarch Lola Toots who shows some distrust to their kasambahay or to Louise’s parents (Sunshine Cruz and Zoren Legaspi) who is ever generous and kind to Norma and her daughter.

The movie is realistic enough to balance its treatment of all its characters. The movie does not present a generally good kasambahay or a generally mean employer. Louise, for instance, may be a spoiled brat but is also sweet and caring to Norma and Ruby. Lola Toots, on the other hand, has condescending attitude towards her kasambahay but redeems herself later on when she starts to recognize and appreciate the pureness in people’s intentions. At the end of the movie, after showing a domestic worker that is committed to her job and has later on developed a bond with her ward, the movie also shows how Norma ends up choosing to be with her own daughter despite a promising opportunity with her employer’s family overseas.

“Inang Yaya” successfully brings out the pain of a domestic worker trapped in conflicting situations between her work and family. For many of us who grew up with our ever reliable yayas, we see them as our second parents but we sometimes forget or overlook their personal pain and longing for their own families. Though we intend to compensate their hard work and commitment, we may not really understand and give enough of what they need and deserve.

The realization comes after watching the entire movie. It allows one to reflect on the complexities of domestic relationships, the oppressiveness of social prejudice and good Filipino values which, in most cases, help in making the right decisions.

The film can actually lead to one’s personal change in the context of domestic work issues --- be it in terms of perspective, of actions, and of decisions made, in whatever role he or she plays in real life, in whatever character her or she can relate to in this film.

That is why “Inang Yaya” came in so timely, right at the heat of the campaign for the passage of the Batas Kasambahay. It can very well serve as an eye opener to our policy makers, to employers and to other sectors, who have yet to understand and appreciate the value of this magna carta. The realistic depiction of domestic work in this film puts forward the need for policy change that will uplift the work and living condition of the sector while also protecting the interests of the employers.

Reviews and feedback
VF’s partnership with Unitel Pictures for the advanced screening of “Inang Yaya” helped send an important message to a diversified audience who trooped to SM Megamall’s Cinema 10 last November 24.

VF’s multi-sectoral partners, along with other moviegoers definitely learned a lesson or two about domestic work issue through this film.

It did not only earn a high mark of “A” from the Cinema Evaluation Board. It also reaped good feedback from people who have watched the film.

The reviews have something interesting to say about the story and the actors and actresses who gave life to the characters. Somehow these reviews have also helped emphasize the important points found in the movie.

Rina Jimenez-David, in her At Large column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, did not only commend “Inang Yaya” but also shared her own “yaya” experience to further highlight the realism and complexity of the film and of domestic work itself.

In his Starbytes column at the Philippine Star, film reviewer Butch Francisco described “Inang Yaya” as something that “isn’t all that strange because it happens to practically domestic helpers working abroad”. He mentioned that the economic crisis has played a “cruel joke” on women like Norma who has to leave her family and go somewhere else to earn.

Even students who watched “Inang Yaya” also appreciated the film for reminding them about treating domestic workers fairly. One student from San Beda even considered this film as a “wake up call” especially to those who take their kasambahay for granted. Another student also remarked that no one has the right to discriminate or look down on domestic workers, considering the valuable role they play in the household. Students and others who watched the film may apply such lessons imparted by the film in their personal dealings with domestic workers in their own homes.

For realistically depicting domestic work, espousing Filipino values and evoking change, “Inang Yaya” is indeed a well crafted film that is worth your peso and time.