Awards and festivals

Film description

The Chinese title of the film means "mother and father are not home." Its international version refers to a Philippine city, Iloilo, from which Teresita Sajonia came to Singapore in the 1980s. Teresita was the prototype of the character played by Angela Bayani, an actress and the muse of Lava Diaz and Adolfo Alix Jr. The woman, employed by Chen's family, was taking care of their house and children until the first serious Asian financial crisis has economically strained the Singaporean middle class. At that time, Sajonia was dismissed.

The director shows the story of a simple Philippine maid using meaningful visual metaphors. The script, based on his own memories, talks about the gradual acclimatization of a woman, who took over the parent’s role in the household, and the changing relations between the employers  and employees, children and adults, strangers and locals, in the face of emotional and financial hardships. And, above all, about friendship and the tragedy of parting.

Agnieszka Szeffel