DFA Features Docu-Drama ‘Sunday Beauty Queen’ in Human Rights Week Celebration
Movie Poster from Voyage Studios
11 January 2018 MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) held a film showing of docu-drama “Sunday Beauty Queen” on 05 December 2017 in observation of the National Human Rights Consciousness Week and the 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A hundred DFA personnel attended the film screening.
“Sunday Beauty Queen” is a documentary film about a group of expatriate Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who spend their rest days (Sunday) to prepare for beauty pageants. The film made its world premiere in the Wide Angle documentary competition at the 21st Busan International Film Festival in 2016 and was the first documentary film to have won Best Picture at the Manila Film Festival in the same year.
In her welcome remarks, Acting Assistant Secretary Raquel R. Solano of the Office of United Nations and International Organizations emphasized the Philippines’ commitment in upholding human rights and the need to continue efforts at raising public consciousness of the importance of cultivating a culture of respect for human rights. Ms. Solano noted that the country is a state party to core international human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
The film showing, she said, aims to honor modern-day heroes, but to also provide a peek into their daily lives and their struggle to provide their families with a comfortable life in the Philippines.
According to Director Baby Ruth Villarama, beneath Hong Kong's glittering facade, Filipinos, mostly women, work as domestic helpers in relative anonymity and for meager income. Despite the drudgery of work, Filipino domestics organize beauty pageants to help raise funds for the benefit of other Filipino workers in need.
“In a beauty pageant like no other in the world, five house helpers gave themselves a unique makeover for a day to be able to support fellow workers in trouble, and reclaim their dignity. As we commemorate the value of human rights this month, we can only hope that by uplifting the voiceless in our society, we can uphold human dignity, and ultimately celebrate equality-- not just exclusively on Sunday but everyday 24/7,” said Ms. Villarama.
The DFA considered it timely to feature the daily lives and struggles of migrant workers to inspire DFA personnel to continue working for the promotion of their welfare and protection of migrant workers’ rights. The DFA is mandated to implement as one of the three pillars of the Philippine Foreign Policy, the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare and interest of Filipinos overseas.
Ms. Solano thanked those who made the film-showing possible: Department of Foreign Affairs Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DFAMPC), led by Assistant Secretary Bayani S. Mercado, and Voyage Films.
The Philippines celebrates National Human Rights Consciousness Week every 4-10 of December 2017 as mandated by Republic Act No. 9201. On 4 December, DFA personnel recited the “Panata sa Karapatang Pantao” (Pledge for Human Rights) during the flag ceremony as a reminder of the Philippines’ commitment to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms. END