‘Sunday Beauty Queen’ goes to Taiwan

“Sunday Beauty Queen”

Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Sunday Beauty Queen” will be screened in Taiwan tomorrow at 7 p.m. The acclaimed documentary, which tells the story of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, is part of the Documenting Asia lineup of the Taoyuan Film Festival, ongoing until May 25.

The Filipino docu, which won best picture at last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, will be shown with movies from United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Syria/Lebanon and Australia.

According to its website, the Taoyuan fest aims to “cultivate an interest in cinema, [by] building an audience that will be given access to films not usually screened in local theaters.” The fest is also “dedicated to Asian docus … providing a platform to the region’s filmmakers to exchange ideas and experiences with local audiences.”

Villarama, along with producer/editor Chuck Gutierrez, will attend the screening and Q&A at the Taoyuan Arts Cinema on Sunday. The site reported that, as of Thursday, there were limited tickets left for this Sunday’s event.

On Sunday, representatives of Migrante Taiwan, the Filipino NGO for overseas Filipino workers, will watch the film. “But the audience will be composed mostly of local viewers. So I hope they will be moved by the docu, as well,” Gutierrez said.—BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.