COME TO ME PARADISE (CA/HK, 2016, Stephanie Comilang)

Stephanie Comilang – LUMAPIT SA AKIN, PARAISO (COME TO ME PARADISE)

CA/HK 2016, feat. music by Why Be & Sky H1, 26’, OV/English subtitles

In LUMAPIT SA AKIN, PARAISO (COME TO ME PARADISE), Stephanie Comilang uses the backdrop of Hong Kong and the various ways in which Filipina migrant workers occupy its downtown Central district on Sundays. The film is narrated from the perspective of Paraiso, a ghost played by a drone who speaks of the isolation from being uprooted and thrown into a new place. Paraiso’s reprieve comes when she is finally able to interact with the women and feel her purpose, which is to transmit their vlogs, photos, and messages back home. The film is a documentary with a terrific score interacting with the science fiction elements in it. “Sci-fi [as a genre] always has the same sort of idea—that’s also why I wanted to make the film. It’s people who are within the society looking at these outsiders, minority groups, and excluding them because of some sort of thing. They’re scared of them. The minorities usually have some sort of power that the others don’t have, and they’re pushed to the side or the outside. That theme translates really well to the migrant, immigrant experience.” (Stephanie Comilang)