One-day run for ‘Migrante’

The plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is familiar territory for filmmaker Joel Lamangan, having tackled the high-profile case of executed domestic helper Flor Contemplacion in a previous film.

“Their stories need to be told,” said Lamangan who shot “Migrante (The Filipino Diaspora),” produced by Xiti Productions, partly in Israel.

“We call our OFWs new heroes, but we take them for granted. Every day, six to seven coffins, bearing the bodies of OFWs, arrive from abroad,” he said.

Lamangan teamed up with scriptwriter Bonifacio Ilagan and the nongovernmental organization Migrante, for this new movie.

“Migrante,” the movie, will have day-long screenings today at Robinsons Galleria, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“One film cannot solve the problems of OFWs,” said Lamangan. “But if people are moved and enlightened after watching it, then I would consider myself successful.”