‘Between Two Cultures’ is a 12 minute video documentary about two Filipinas: Marcella, a student who has spent most of her life in the UK, and Mildred a nanny working overseas in order help give her siblings and education.
This project was an idea by The Centre for Filipinos and the North Kensington Video and Drama Project (NKVDP).
The video makers, Anthony Lopez-Vito and Eugina dela Guardia, spent one day a week for around one year (between 2000 and 2001) shooting and editing the documentary. It was shot in MiniDV using a Sony VX1000 digital camcorder and edited using Avid video editing suite.
Background
Like all the people that have made the UK their home, Filipinos have become tightly integrated into British society. In the service industry, healthcare, entertainment, finance, public transport, government; in fact, should one care to look, Filipinos can be seen helping to oil the wheels that make Britain run. But what makes us different from the other ethnic groups beside whom we work – Indians, Africans, Chinese, West-Indians, Pakistani? Filipinos in the UK do not have a voice and we have no identity. In the rush for cultural recognition, we have been left behind, remaining a largely unknown community.
‘Between Two Cultures’ is a short video documentary – initiated by the Centre for Filipinos (CF) – that hopes to address this issue. It offers a glimpse of the lives and experiences of two Filipinas: Marcella, a student who has spent most of her life in the UK, and Mildred a nanny working overseas in order help give her siblings and education.
The Video
In late Autumn, 2000, the CF began work with the North Kensington Video and Drama Project – NKVDP – in Ladbroke Grove, and trained a few volunteers some basic video techniques. A year before, the project produced a ‘Vox-Pops’ style video of a community festival, so they decided that the latest one should show a cross-section profile of the community. It was planned to feature a young Filipino who is growing up in the UK, a domestic worker and a successful ‘professional’. Unfortunately, due to timing constraints, the interview with the professional was dropped. Nevertheless, both Marcella and Mildred proved to be ideal candidates on which to base the documentary.
Watch ‘Between Two Cultures’ on YouTube – Part 1
(approx. 5mins 30sec)
Watch ‘Between Two Cultures’ on YouTube – Part 2
(approx. 8mins)