‘Sunday Beauty Queen’ director wins British Council’s Social Impact award

Image: Facebook/@babyruth.villarama

Baby Ruth Villarama received the first-ever Global Alumni Award for Social Impact organized by international education organization British Council.

The Alumni Awards, now on its fourth year, honors United Kingdom university graduates who have made achievements in their home country in three categories: Professional Achievement, Entrepreneurialism and Social Impact.

For the first time this year, it was expanded to recognize alumni beyond their nations and regions through the Global Alumni Awards.

Villarama received the Social Impact Award for work which “has positively changed their society or community,” according to a British Council statement. She was among seven regional award winners from countries including Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ukraine.

The award-winning director and film producer’s work includes “Sunday Beauty Queen”, a documentary on Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong and “Little Azkals” which documented 22 boys’ journey to the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

The British Council said that her work was crucial to “generating national conversations and raising international awareness of modern day issues such as human trafficking and slavery.”

Villarama also co-founded Voyage Film Studios which produces indie films featuring social issues in the Philippines and Asia.

She graduated with an MA in Film Distribution and Marketing at Birmingham City University. She was the recipient of a Chevening Scholarship, the British government’s global scholarship program.

The global award winners will have the rare opportunity to fly to the U.K. for a “networking and professional development opportunity.”

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