Cinetactic

In January 2023, my wife and I left the Philippines in search of a better future in Canada. We bid goodbye to the careers we had built and the community we had been a part of—managing to squeeze the past three decades into two 25-kg pieces of luggage. As a result, this platform, Cinetactic, had to pause to make way for our new lives as Filipino Workers in Canada.

After this long hiatus, allow me to share my insights on the film Hello, Love, Again, coincidentally shot in the city where we now live. Based on my firsthand experiences, I will break down the film, what it means to me as a foreign worker in Canada, and what it represents for millions of Filipinos worldwide who are trying to figure out who they are and where their home might be.

The Story

Hello, Love, Again is a sequel to the 2019 film Hello, Love, Goodbye. Joy, played by Kathryn Bernardo, has successfully left Hong Kong for a supposedly better life in Canada. The story revolves around how she and her ex-boyfriend Ethan, played by Alden Richards, reunite and attempt to build their new lives in Canada.

The film is well-researched, and the writers successfully wove in the complicated legal hurdles that immigrants in Canada face today. Film viewers unfamiliar with the Canadian immigration conditions might pass off the story as a simple comedy-drama about a reuniting couple. But for someone like me, who has faced—and continues to face—the same immigration challenges as Joy and Ethan have, the story is an assurance that our tales of hardship and sacrifice are being documented and discussed on a popular platform.

As a sequel, HLA works well. As the story progresses, we see how the actors have improved their craft. Kathryn portrays a complex character, capturing a wide range of emotions. Her maturity allowed her to embody a strong independent woman capable of finding success in an unfriendly foreign land. The ensemble cast also works well. While at times they appear and sound similar (high-energy, noisy secondary characters), they complete the film’s world. Kudos to Joross Gamboa, who made his scenes some of the most unforgettable parts of the film. His timing was perfect, landing jokes each time.

Overall, the film shows how its creators took the time to understand the Filipino landscape in this little town we’re in—Calgary. Despite the picturesque backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Newcomers struggle to survive, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their Canadian dream.

But the film isn’t only about Filipinos in Canada. Comparing it to the OFW films at the start of the century, we can see how the tale of diasporic Filipino is changing – how our OFWs transition to become a Global Filipino.

The term Global Filipino

The term Global Filipino has been used more frequently by Filipino writers since the 2010s. It caught my attention when Jessica Soho used it in her episode with the leads of Hello, Love, Again in November this year. As a Filipino living in Canada, I wondered what this term means and what it reveals about the Filipino public’s understanding of their kababayans working abroad.

In the past, being an OFW meant leaving your family behind in search of a salary the Philippines couldn’t provide. You spent your prime years working abroad, sending as much money as possible to your family back home. In contrast, the Global Filipino narrative introduces a new group in the diaspora—young, often college-educated individuals with money to invest. Their goal isn’t just to send money to the Philippines but to make their new home in the country where they now reside. This new set of Filipinos has opportunities to work toward permanent residency and, potentially, citizenship in these developed countries. While OFWs’ ambition is for financial gain, the global Filipino’s dream is to enjoy the benefits of a better healthcare system, efficient public infrastructure, accountable government, and many more.

The film’s conversation about finding home suggests that being Filipino doesn’t require living in the Philippines. For Global Filipinos, wherever they may be and whatever their citizenship is, they will always be Filipinos.

Conclusion

In the early 2000s, we saw several Filipino films exploring the topic of Overseas Filipino Workers. Anak delved into what a mother sacrifices when she leaves her children to work as a domestic helper. Milan depicted the not-so-glamorous conditions of Filipinos in Europe. Dubai examined the burden on older siblings abroad to support their families in the Philippines. Filipinos went abroad, worked hard, and, hopefully, saved enough to return home.

Two decades later, there is a new term to describe OFWs – Global Filipinos. It denotes a new generation of Filipinos. They are supposed to have more agency, a higher education, are better skilled, and generally have more rights. But looking closer, a lot of things have not changed. Global Filipinos continue to face anti-immigration policies in these developed nations. They are subjected to the same exploitative players wherever they may be.

Joy and Ethan’s story is not that different from the OFW movie characters a generation ago. The film is a good reminder of this. Hence, Hello, Love, Again is a welcome start in bringing new issues about the Filipino diaspora to the forefront. As a foreign worker, I hope to see more films like this. At a time when developed countries are restricting their borders and turning their backs on immigrants who helped them recover from the economic crises of COVID-19, popular media must tell our stories.#