Set in Lisbon, this film depicts the interactions among Filipino women working as domestic labor in foreign homes. Their relationships with their families and country are woven into their conversations. Visually, more than the depiction of their lives in the foreign country itself, or their relationships with their families, what is reflected here is the emotion that can be read in their demeanor and expressions. The film painfully conveys how the women try to overcome their various sorrows and frustrations by laughing together during the days away from their own families and country. 

The core of successful documentary filmmaking lies in its handling of The Human Experience.  “The Songs We Sing in Different Lands” is no exception. Though many works, both fiction and nonfiction, have tackled the subject of the Pinoy diaspora, this technically polished oeuvre gave us refreshing insights into the OFW phenomenon.  We’re introduced to an interesting mix of diverse Filipinas, each one with distinct political views and passionate advocacies.  They are all willingly to set these aside -in typical Filipino manner- over food, song, and heartfelt sharing.  More than the issues put on the table for discussion, a documentary truly works if what remains with you after the credits roll are the endearing people you met in the viewing.

The “Songs We Sing in a Different Land” is about the experiences of Filipino women working in Lisbon, Portugal. Since the 1970s, the Philippines has sent many workers to various countries. As the opening of the film touches upon, the international labor migration of people has greatly contributed to the Philippines economy. However, it is important to note that behind the economic contributions of these “new national heroes” (bagong bayani) are the sacrifices made by these migrant workers, who are away from their families, working in foreign countries and sometimes under harsh working conditions. This documentary depicts the sorrow of these migrant workers and their struggle to cope with their situation, interwoven between scenes of them gathering on their days off to eat, sing, and laugh.
Since the 1980s, many Filipino women have traveled to East Asian countries, the Middle East, and Europe to work as domestic and care workers. In several scenes in the film, these women who worked overseas as domestic workers talk about having to leave their children behind when they were still young. For example, one woman who came to Lisbon after working in Saudi Arabia for 23 years says she “still regrets” not being there for her children when they were growing up. Another who says she has not seen her child once in the six years since she came to Lisbon is shown in video calls with her child in a small room. She asks what the child has eaten and then tells the child, “If you play outside, wash your hands before you eat.” This scene seems to depict how these women, who “only have money to give to their children” and “can’t hold their children’s hands when they have a fever,” try to connect with them on a daily basis whilst also caring for their well-being. And do the sounds of airplane engines and images that frequently appear in the film allude to the connected yet distant relationship between them working in Lisbon and their families living in their home countries or in other countries?
A feature of this documentary is the many scenes of them eating lots of food together and singing songs. Around 2000, I had an opportunity to live for a short time in Rome in an apartment where Filipino domestic workers lived, and at that time, my first impression was also that every day off, their relatives and friends would gather, eat, and sing together. In Lisbon, as I experienced in Rome, the Filipinos seem to cook the same meals and sing the same songs that they used to sing in the Philippines and laugh a lot. These moments of eating on days off, songs, and laughter, along with other objects strongly reminiscent of Filipino life and faith -such as the altar with a statue of Mary in a small room and the picture of the Last Supper hanging behind the dining table- seemed to have great significance as the women worked and lived away from their families in a foreign country. Yet, what was different from Rome, where relatives gathered on their days off, was the fact that in Lisbon, families were not so readily available, and as evidenced by the different perspectives on Filipino politics among the women, as those with different life experiences in the Philippines formed the group. Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (In English the sway of the baby cradle), a Filipino folk song reminds us of mothers who rocked cradles to remember separated families and they also sing “That’s what friends are for,” a popular American song in the Philippines. Through the way they create new intimate gatherings in another country, we see the energy and skills they use to survive in the modern world as well as their immigration situation in Lisbon.