Sunday Beauty Queen (2016)
95 min.
Hong Kong | Japan | Philippines | UK | Macao
Filipino | Tagalog | English | Cantonese Languages without English Subtitles
Director: Baby Ruth Villarama
Producer: Chuck Gutierrez
Cinematography: Dexter Dela Peña
Starring: Rudelyn Acosta, Cherrie Mae Bretana, Mylyn Jacobo, Hazel Perdido, Leo Selomenio
Beneath Hong Kong's glittering facade, Filipinas working as domestic helpers work in relative anonymity and for near slave wages. In a beauty pageant like no other in the world, five helpers give themselves makeovers for a day and gleefully reclaim their dignity.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Baby Ruth Villarama has been involved in international co-productions for more than 10 years as a producer and documentary film director. She started creating news and current affairs stories for ABS-CBN before she was commissioned by international channels as a liaison producer for Southeast Asia. She eventually co-produce socially- relevant films with filmmakers and other producers from the region, where some have been championed in key international festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venize and others.
Baby Ruth earned her master's degree in film marketing and distribution from Birmingham City University in the UK as a Chevening Scholar where she recently won the 2018 UK Global Alumni Social Impact Award for influencing global conversations, and policy changes on migration and modern-day slavery through her films. She is the director of the documentary film Sunday Beauty Queen (2016), the first documentary that rose above a pool of narrative films in the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival winning best picture.