The diaspora of Filipinos around the globe is driven mostly by the economics of supply and demand. The yearning for something better, stability, and self-validation leads a handful of sojourners from the provinces of the Philippines into the arms of one of its former colonial masters — the USA. But what happens when they finally get what they want? And how? Filmmaker Dennis Empalmado explores the musings of Filipino expatriates and hopeful immigrants in "Naglalakbay" (Travelers).
Related Movies
Jaddoland (2018)
Moving between the playful and the contemplative, explores the meaning of identity and home across three generations of an Iraqi family in Texas.
House Orders (1975)
In buildings where foreign workers lived in Germany, there were strict rules of conduct, defined by the house rules and supervised by the building superintendents. Many rights regarding the freedom of movement, communication and behavior were abused. Interviews with the tenants and with the "orderlies" which point out absurd situations and clashes caused by these restrictions.
Annie Was a Wonder (1949)
In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short, narrator John Nesbitt tells the story of Scandinavian immigrant Annie Swenson, who worked as cook and housekeeper in his family's home while he was growing up.
Gangs of New York (2002)
In 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points of America to seek vengeance against the psychotic gangland kingpin, Bill the Butcher, who murdered his father years earlier. With an eager pickpocket by his side and a whole new army, Vallon fights his way to seek vengeance on the Butcher and restore peace in the area.
El Vacío (2019)
In a mesmerizing confessional built from home video and animation, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio explores the mental prisons and personal trauma created by immigration policy.
The Sketch (2023)
Upon his arrival in Paris, filmmaker Tomas Cali immerses himself in learning French, as well as the language of sketching. In an art studio, he meets transgender life model Linda Demorrir, who helps him to connect with himself and his new city in a profoundly different way.
The Dance of Memory (2014)
Memory mechanisms are mysterious: we only see the stories we choose in order to construct our own reality. Every mark is a message in time, the invocation of an absence. To travel in the memory is to walk in time, zigzagging, a long road permeated by a dark, indecipherable logic… if we could choose seven moments to sum up our entire life, which ones would they be? The Dance of the Memory is a documentary-essay that guides us in that autobiographical search, where image and memory intertwine. It mixes archive material with an aesthetic and subjective tone.
Sydney Castells: Spirit of Catalunya (2023)
'Sydney Castells: Spirit of Catalunya' is a documentary exploring Catalan climbing and culture. Bringing light to a relatively unknown community based in Sydney, NSW. Viewing insights into the personal lives of individuals who partake in this thrilling sport.
If Stone Could Speak (2008)
Stonecutters emigrated from northern Italy to Barre, Vermont, the "Granite Capital of the World." Follow the artisans and their families from quarries, workshops and schools in Italy to granite carving sheds in New England, as they seek their own identities, choosing what to keep and what to cut away from their American and Italian legacies.
The Eternal Road (2017)
Jussi Ketola, returns to Finland from the great depression struck America only to face growing political unrest. One summer night of 1930, nationalist thugs violently abduct Ketola from his home. Beaten and forced to walk the Eternal Road towards a foreign Soviet Russia, where cruelty seems to know no end, his only dream is to return to his family cost it what it may. Hope dies last.
Journey to the West (2015)
"Journey to the West" is an embedded documentary film into a bus full of Chinese tourists visiting Europe (6 countries in 10 days!) for the very first time. This road movie captures with humor, poetry and spirit the cultural differences between China and Europe in a play of mirrors and contrasts. It also destroys the stereotypes about the emerging Chinese middle class and reveals what they think about the "others" who are "us", the Westerners.
Aan ons den arbeid (2007)
Documentary that shows the changing attitude towards immigrant labor in The Netherlands. The documentary follows three immigrants that arrived in Holland 30 years ago to work in a bakery.
Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America (2016)
Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America is an award-winning 2016 documentary about Moises Serrano, who grew up queer and undocumented in Yadkinville, North Carolina.
Under Capricorn (1949)
A native Briton banished to Australia for murder, and his wife, Henrietta, the disturbed sister of the man he was convicted on killing, set out to help her conquer her demons and return her life to normal.
Madeleine (2023)
Every week, two friends born 67 years apart share their life stories in a senior home's living room. The younger friend convinces the 107-year-old lady to join her in an adventure: a road trip to the sea.
Midway (1976)
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.
Michael Blackwell: Combat Camera (2014)
Michael Blackwell entered the United States Navy on Veteran's Day, 2002 and served for more than nine years. While stationed with the now-disestablished Fleet Combat Camera Group Pacific, he served alongside United States Army 5th and 10th group Special Forces in Iraq.
Paper Dolls (2006)
Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.
