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“I’ve always been intrigued by women’s stories,” says Joanna Bowers, writer, director and producer. In 2017 she released The HELPER – A Documentary showcasing the immense sacrifices of female migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong.
Recording with Joanna Bowers, Maker of The Helper Documentary.
In this Episode, you will learn
- Why an idea sometimes takes time to materialise.
- How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. Plus creative strategies to keep the momentum going after the first week.
- How to draw the line as a filmmaker between telling your story, getting personally invested and raising awareness for the cause you are passionate about.
The uniting factor
Regina Larko sat down with Joanna Bowers to hear about the making of her numerous value-driven productions that focus on sustainability and female empowerment. Though the mediums she uses do vary – from narrative to documentaries, TV to commercial – there is a common red threat.
“My uniting factor in everything that I have been attracted to has been telling women’s stories,” Joanna shares.
And one of these stories took Hong Kong and the region by storm last year when she set out to raise awareness for the maternal sacrifice of migrant domestic workers.
A story that found Joanna the moment she arrived in Hong Kong
Like many people that arrive in Hong Kong and encounter the thousands of migrant domestic workers hanging out on temporary card box shelters out in public spaces, Joanna was intrigued and curious about the story behind these women relaxing and resting, catching up with each other, calling family back home and playing bingo out on the street on their day off.
What many of us often take for granted, the privacy of our own homes on a day off, migrant domestic workers become part of a public spectacle as these women have no space of their own to relax.
Shared passion and that thing about timing
Joanna talks us through making a lucky encounter when her path crossed with Tony Verb, who shared her passion for telling the story of the sacrifices of migrant domestic workers and he would, later on, become the Producer of The Helper. When a tragic story about the abuse of an Indonesian domestic helper, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, made international headlines, the time was finally ripe for the documentary to be realised.
Raising funds for the production – a terrifying endeavour
Joanna and Tony started a Kickstarter campaign to fund their documentary during a time when Kickstarter, at least in Hong Kong, was still underexposed. They ambitiously set their goal of raising 80.000 US Dollars. Joanna was nervous about how it would go. Really nervous.
“It’s terrifying! The prospect of potential public failure is ginormous. It’s a huge risk.”
But they went for it, took the risk and launched their Kickstarter Campaign in August 2015. They had a chance to present their idea at a Creative Morning Session. That morning, when Joanna and Tony pitched their vision for The Helper in front of an intrigued crowd, Regina sat right there in the audience.
They had a great start but, like for most crowdfunding campaigns, after the first week, everything slowed down. In this episode, you will find out how some creative tweaks in their campaign, as well as a bit of luck, helped to reach their goal.
Starting production and storyline
Scroll all the way up and press play to find out how Joanna first came across the Unsung Heroes, a choir of domestic helpers, and why one of their beautiful songs became the red threat in her moving documentary, showcasing how much these women had to give up. These women that are contributing so much to Hong Kong society when raising their employer’s children, taking care of their employer’s households, the families elderly. These women are often mothers themselves, and had to leave their children in their native countries behind to make a living supporting their families back home.
“We wanted to focus on the maternal sacrifice that these women make”
Taking the stage
The documentary follows the women of the Unsung Heroes choir to their performance at Hong Kong’s biggest music festival Clockenflap. When shooting the final scenes for the documentary at Clockenflap, Joanna, at that point pregnant in her 3rd trimester, had to be put on bedrest after her blood pressure spiked. Nevertheless, she followed the live broadcast of their performance via Clockenflap’s Youtube Live Feed and gave directions for the shooting of the final scenes from her hospital bed.
The reception
Since The Helper was released, the reception has been mind-blowing. Sold out in movie theatres all over Hong Kong, featured across the media, and with a viral social media campaign spreading “Thank you’s” to domestic helpers the positive impact this movie has on the perception and acknowledgement of domestic migrant workers cannot be denied.
“We have been absolutely blown away by the reaction!”
Not to mention the impact the documentary had on the lives of the women featured in it.
“We naively underestimated how popular the film would be with domestic helpers in Hong Kong.”
Members of the cast have become superstars within their community and beyond. For example Liza Avelino, who has since taken the TEDxTinHauWomen stage and continues to give inspirational talks for corporate clients.
After seeing the documentary, viewers reached out to Joanna, wanting to get involved and help out, for example with education sponsorships for the women featured in the movie and their children. Another woman featured in the documentary, the talented choir lead singer Joy, has in the meantime been offered a job as a music teacher.
“It makes sense. She is not just a domestic helper. They have got hopes and dreams and talents.”
But of course, there were also setbacks and moments of doubt for Joanna.
“As a filmmaker learning how and where you can draw the line in your involvement with your subjects is really tricky.”
In this interview, you will hear for yourself how Joanna tries to find the right balance when she shares one of the storylines of The Helper that challenged her most to do just that.
“I never set out to be a change maker. I set out to make a film, and the film has ended up having this immense impact. That’s really opened my eyes to the fact that anyone can have an impact – if I can.”
Scroll all the way up and hear for yourself how Joanna becoming a mum in the process of making this documentary has impacted her on a very personal level.
Anyone can have an impact if I can. Share on X#impACT – some inspiration to make a change
Join the #thanksamillion campaign and give thanks to the migrant domestic worker in your life
- If you employ a migrant domestic worker, go head over to Facebook and join the campaign to say THANK YOU to them with the #thanksamillion hashtag
- Say thanks to someone you work with and show your appreciation to make them understand that you care.
- Watch The Helper – A Documentary and tell your friends about it too!
If you enjoyed this episode, you would also love hearing from ENRICH, an organisation that empowers Migrant Domestic Workers with their Financial Literacy Programmes.
This season we celebrate women in social impact. Don’t miss the next episode. Subscribe.
