OFW director’s film examines a Pinoy breadwinner’s life abroad

Inspired by the psychological impact of working miles away from loved ones, an overseas Filipino worker in the United Arab Emirates has come up with "Lamentasyon," a film that looks into OFWs at a different angle.

“We wanted to show a different story more than the misfortunes and physical abuse our OFWs suffer,” Director Archie Enriquez shared via email.

According to Enriquez, who is a sales assistant in Dubai Duty Free, "Lamentasyon" is about a "young Filipino expatriate in Dubai who was obliged by his avaricious mother to become the breadwinner of his family in the Philippines."

Enriquez and his crew started conceptualizing the movie in February.
They developed the script for two months and conducted a workshop for two weeks.

“Full-day shooting was done every Friday while some small scenes were shot during weekdays after each cast’s and crew’s working hours,” he said.

But there was a problem: Enriquez has no money to sustain the project.

“Money-wise, we literally don’t have. All our expenses were taken from each other’s pocket and up to this day are receipts for reimbursements.”

He, however, added: “But we are thankful for some sponsors who lent us their assistance not in monetary way but through their resources.”

Aside from cash, conflicting schedules were also a problem.

“This project requires a lot of time and effort, and as a director and one of the producers of the film, I need to make sure that our team are doing their job well without giving too much pressure,” he said.

In directing the movie, Enriquez said he tried to be as democratic as possible to maintain “camaraderie.”

“I may have the aesthetic vision on how the film will look like, but I also appreciate the importance of having their ideas as it adds value to the film.  I believe that the camaraderie within the group and the passion for what we are doing kept us going to finish this project that we can all be proud of.”

Enriquez said his interest in movie-making started when he was asked by one of his friends to create a slideshow presentation using Microsoft Movie Maker.

“From that moment, I found the interest in editing film clips and started watching filmmaking tutorials on YouTube,” he said.

Inspired and determined, Enriquez bought a cheap digital camera to practice cinematography and visual effects based from what he learned online.

By May 2010, his “passion” for directing fully blossomed. Using his mobile phone camera, he made his first experimental short film ‘Tenant.’”

“When the concept of ‘Lamentasyon’ came, I wanted to show that it can be done just from pure passion and joy, not for fame and money. Being the director of the first ever full-length film by OFW adds value and push to my ever-growing dream for a life behind the lens,” Enriquez said.

“Lamentasyon” will have its premier screening on November 15 at the Cineplex Grand Hyatt. Its soundtrack has been sung by UAE-based Filipino band ThirdParty. —KBK, GMA News.