Canadian Adobo // A free film about Filipino Overseas Work and family reunification

Please register for this free documentary film screening. Everyone is welcome, no one will be turned away, but space is limited so register early! Please reserve your spot and likewise, please cancel your ticket if you can no longer attend the event. 

This event is brought to you by Story Money Impact and Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture.

There will be a panel discussion about Overseas Filipino Workers, the separation of OFW parents from their children left behind in the Philippines, and the important work of family reunification.

Join us at 6:00pm (and after the show) for a mini vendor market, featuring Pinay Collection, Folklorico, INAbelution, Salaysay, Kapisanan, and Migrante Ontario.

Trailer and Synopsis

When Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) leave their modest comforts in the Philippines for the promise of a brighter future, they leave their families behind to take care of other people’s families in Canada. Who is left to care for them, and their children back in the Philippines? The emotional struggles of these parents striving to provide for their families back home is captured through the raw and intimate lens of family and group therapy, as well as the unexpected challenge of reconnecting with their estranged children who grapple with their new lives in another country.

Schedule

6:00pm - Doors open & vendor mini-market
6:30pm - Film starts
7:50pm - 40-min talkback with panel
8:30pm - Reception & vendors
9:45pm - End of event

Panelists

Kent Donguines is the director and star of Canadian Adobo. A Filipino-Canadian narrative and documentary filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC, he has produced the award-winning CBC short documentary, This Ink Runs Deep, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. He also wrote, directed, and produced the Telus Storyhive short film, Kalinga (Care), a documentary about the sacrifices Filipina nannies make to work in Canada. The short documentary had its World Premiere at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival and won the Kathleen Shannon Award from Yorkton Film Festival. His latest short film, funded by Harold Greenberg Fund, BC Arts Council, Canadian Film Centre, CreativeBC, and the National Film Board of Canada, Paco received the Grand Prize in this year’s Stage32 Annual Film Contest and has secured a broadcast license with CRAVE. He’s currently developing the feature film, Error 404 and just finished his feature documentaries, Canadian Adobo and Treasure of the Rice Terraces. 

Elda Almario is a first-generation Filipino immigrant, psychotherapist, and big sister to an Autistic brother. She works with children, youth, adults, and families who are exploring identity, navigating transitions, or unpacking complex lived experiences like immigration, diagnosis, or generational trauma. Her approach is grounded in cultural responsiveness, neurodiversity-affirming care, anti-oppressive values, and malasakit - genuine care. She is also a clinical supervisor and speaker, supporting racialized therapists and the wider community. Whether she's mentoring others to decolonize their practices or speaking about mental health in kababayan circles, her work is always about making care more accessible, human, and connected.

Joelyn, "Jhoey", Dulaca is an organizer with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a migrant-led organization. Arriving to Canada in 2016, knows firsthand the challenges of the caregiver programs. Worked as a live-in caregiver, endured the struggle to keep up with the shifting immigration rules and hurdles for permanent residence. Started organizing with fellow careworkers in early 2017 to demand justice, equal rights and permanent status for all careworkers. She has firsthand experience with family separation due to overseas work. As both the daughter of an overseas Filipino worker and someone who later made the same sacrifice to support her family. She will be sharing her perspective on the emotional and mental health impact of migration in rebuilding family bonds.

Share the registration link and poster below with your friends and family!

www.storymoneyimpact.com/torontoadobo

Thank you to our community partners:

Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture
Laro Therapy
Migrant Workers Alliance

The STORY TO ACTION program would like to thank our funders for making this event possible.