Hong Kong’s Filipino domestic workers take centre stage in US filmmaker Stefanos Tai’s ‘We Don’t Dance For Nothing’
- Filmmaker worked with Filipino actors based in the city, seeking to document the dreams and travails of migrant women, inspired by their convivial Sunday gatherings at Central
- He hopes his film will spark discussions about representation and help people around the world look at this community more compassionately
Life on the pavements and flyovers of Central, where domestic workers from the Philippines gather on Sundays when they’re off work, inspired We Don’t Dance for Nothing.
Filmmaker Stefanos Tai, 26, a New Yorker of Chinese-Greek descent, wanted to capture their story after he was drawn to moments of “warmth” and “generosity” during these gatherings, away from the grind of caregiving and chores.
Sounds of Tagalog mingling with English and Cantonese as migrant workers enjoyed time with friends, left a lasting impression on him.
“Very early on, when I arrived in Hong Kong, I saw thousands of women in Central dancing and doing all sorts of activities,” he said. “It was such a display of humanity. I was immediately inspired by it, and it sort of became my mission.”
Though he eventually started working on TV commercials, what kept him in the city for four years was his drive to tell this particular story. It became his passion.
He said: “It is amazing to me that they can summon so much grace on Sundays… and yet in the evening, they go back to a situation that is sometimes not ideal, and can be abusive. I wanted to show both sides of that story.”
