Filmmaker Maritte Go discusses ‘Remittance’, inspirations and thoughts on Asian representation in film and TV
If there’s one thing to be said about the Filipina mother, it’s that she puts her children first.
That’s the thematic nucleus of the new short film “Remittance” by Filipina-American filmmaker and producer Maritte Go, who won third place in the second annual HBO Asian Pacific American (APA) Visionaries Short Film Competition, where filmmakers had to tell stories surrounding the theme of “home.”
“Remittance” tells the story of a Filipina cruise worker (played by Go) who is notified via voicemail that her son is in the hospital. Stuck working on an Alaskan cruise, the mother desperately tries to get a hold of her family which proves to be a physical and emotional challenge.
The film is a reminder of a mother’s hardship and the sacrifices many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) make to provide for their families. Though she’s thousands of miles away from home, hearing her son’s voice over the phone reminds her that home isn’t a location but rather the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child.
Go, a USC Film and TV Production graduate, drew inspiration from her family’s experiences and chose this story to evoke the vast meaning of home.
But she was particularly inspired by her own mother’s story. With the help of her family, Go’s mother, an immigrant from the Philippines, was able to become a doctor in the U.S. and, for her, family was the sole driver for all her hard work.
“She raised me to work for my family and that everything we do is for family. She’s really my inspiration for everything I do,” Go shared with the Asian Journal in a recent phone interview. “She’s just incredibly strong and works so hard, and so when I saw that HBO called to make a film about ‘home’ I thought this is perfect because I’ve always seen [how] my mom misses home so much and everything she does is for her family and all the money she makes she goes to them. So home isn’t necessarily where you are but where you’re heart is and her heart was always back in the Philippines back there.”
With very few lines of dialogue, “Remittance” profoundly captures the internal conflicts of a distressed mother who begins to question the decision to separate herself from her son, a feeling very familiar to the more than 10 million OFWs around the world.
Like many Filipino families, she has relatives working as OFWs who have spent most of their lives away from the family in order to provide for it.
“There’s people from around the world, you know, people who have to find the work wherever it is to be able to support the family whether that’s working on a cruise ship or at a hotel,” Go said, highlighting the collective struggle of all OFWs who have the bravery to be separated from loved ones. “It’s being able to move there, and sacrifice your own happiness so that your family can live a good life is heartbreaking, but it’s also beautiful and so moving in that you’ve given that up so that your family can succeed.”
In February, “Remittance” was selected as a finalist for HBO’s APA Visionaries Short Film Competition, a competitive program that provides emerging APA filmmakers a chance to feature their talents.
In addition to Go’s “Remittance,” two other films were selected as finalists: “June” by Tawainese Huay-Bing Law and “Jiejie” by Feng-I Fiona Roan. The three films were then screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 4, where Law and Roan took first and second place, respectively.
“Remittance” and the other short films are now available to stream on HBO NOW and HBO GO.
