Baby Ruth Villarama has been involved in international documentary for more than 10 years as a producer and director. She started creating documentary contents for ABS-CBN before she was commissioned by National Geographic, Bloomberg, and other international organizations as a country Producer for the Philippines. She eventually co-produce independent films with filmmakers and other producers from the region, which some have been championed in key international festivals. She earned her Master’s Degree for Film Marketing and Distribution at the Birmingham City University in the UK as a Chevening Scholar. She won the British Council’s Global Alumni Social Impact Award for 2018 because her films are generating national conversations and raising international awareness of modern day issues such as human trafficking and slavery. She’s part of a team that puts up Voyage Studios, a startup that push Filipino stories reach a more global audience.
On the occasion of her appearing on an Alternativa Panel, we speak with her about her new projects and “Sunday Beauty Queens” and the impact it had for both the protagonists and Villarama’s career.
You have a new movie this year, can you give us some more details about it?
We are filming a story on the West Philippine Sea at the moment, which we will premiere sometime March next year in the Philippines. The situation in the area is that China is trying to push or discourage fisher folk from fishing in our seas, thus creating a very sensitive situation. We are trying to look and present the issue from various perspectives, so that our Chinese counterparts and friends can understand the point of view of local people, who essentially want nothing but to provide for and feed their families.
I’m an independent filmmaker, and I am part of a group that does different content, Voyage Studios, and we are under a festival with this project, Cine Panalo, which is sponsored by a grocery company, Puregold, if you can imagine. They want to support both narrative and documentary. In fact, we invited one of the people of their team to a pitch in Indonesia in 2017, and that is how they got exposed to this sort of impact filmmaking. It is very out-of-the-box, because whenever we film, we get access to groceries, anything we need for the crew and for the community that we’re filming. At the same time, they are not really requiring us to to put their brands in a specific scene, let’s say. It is all about allowing good storytelling and perhaps create the necessary change for society and inspire the audience. That is the marching order for us.
What is the title?
Right now, the working title is “Food Delivery”. We are trying to universalize the title to make it more accessible to audience.
Since you have worked extensively in both capacities, do you prefer directing, producing or both?
I never do both at the same time actually. Because when you are the director, you have to make sure that the film is the priority. But when you’re a producer, you have to manage certain expectations from other people, other groups, the financial situation, and I can’t do that, because once you think about that, it will affect the creative process of the film. So I work with producers who are also storytellers, so they understand what is necessary for a film project, and especially producers who understand impact as well. That’s very important, because there are producers who just sort of make films and then get their ROI and do another round, you know, all over again. So we try to find our own people, our own tribe, that can really make a difference.
Check the review of the film
Since in the panel you talked about “Sunday Beauty Queen“, I was wondering if you follow the women featuring, and if you know if the film really made a difference in their lives.
Yes, for example MJ now runs a sports development NGO in Mindanao, because she’s into sports, and she has received a lot of support, as well as an individual. The thing about our company is that we don’t gatekeep, if there is an organization that want to support the characters, we let them. We just remind them that to take care of themselves and be aware of opportunistic groups that just want to use them for their own benefit. But they are smart women and they know to set boundaries when they have a partnership.
Leo is working in providing jobs for displaced migrant workers in Hong Kong. She has been offered an office in the newly built OWWA – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Hazel is a brand ambassador and others have also followed similar paths. I am just happy that we were able to change these women’s lives and now they are also changing other people’s lives and empowering them.
Did the success of the film helped in funding your projects that came after that?
Definitely. Before, we used to really attend pitching conferences and return home with tote bags, souvenirs and pictures (laughing). But after “Sunday Beauty Queen”, it became a little easier. Now, for example we are able to produce two films, and for the second one, which is about restorative justice, we are in post-production at the moment, in the final stage. It is a film supported by the Tribeca Film Institute and DocEdge, Kolkata and by EIDF in South Korea, Purin Pictures and Bertha Foundation. We also found a South Korean producer who is an Academy member too, Gary Kam. This film was originally a short but he was the one who said we should do a feature. Something similar actually happened with “Sunday Beauty Queen”, my Japanese producer said we should make it a feature. The title is “Touch the Color” but maybe it will change depending on how the film is shaped. We are excited to see if we will be able to create the same impact with “Sunday Beauty Queen”
