Iloilo : The Cebu advance screening

CEBU, Philippines -  From 1988 to 1997, Teresita Sajonia worked as a nanny in Singapore, helping the Chen household go about the day-to-day ablutions of  life.

Working for the Chens for eight years, she managed to become an important part of the household – as an unspoken member of the family – but that sadly came to an end when she had to stop working for health reasons in 1997, going back to her hometown in Iloilo.

Since then, no contact between the Chens and Sajonia had taken place, until the accolades for Iloilo – the full-length feature that won the Camera d'Or prize in this year's Cannes International Film Festival – made waves.

The Award-winning Film

Written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen, Iloilo tells the story of how a Singaporean family and a Filipino nanny forged  a unique relationship with each other.

Set in Singapore and backdropped by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the film's storyline is loosely based on actual  events that had happened in the filmmaker's life, framing the lives of working couple Teck and Hwee, their three sons Wijie, Weiming and Weicong, and the family's Filipino nanny, Teresa – fondly referred to as "Auntie Terry".

Chronicling Teresa's relationship with the household, the movie illustrates how she is initially treated as a stranger, then as a servant, then as an important member of the family: as a friend and surrogate mother.

It somberly ends with Teresa and the family going their separate ways, a state that is brought about by the financial constraints experienced by the family.

They never see each other again.

The Search for Auntie Terry

Following after the success of the film, Charles Lim of the Cebu-based PR agency Selracho Consultancy found it curious that a film made by a Singaporean – the first Singaporean to win a top award at the Cannes Film Festival  – was entitled "Iloilo".

After directly getting in touch with Chen, Lim learned that the filmmaker based his movie on his real-life experiences with his nanny, and that he and his family had not been in contact with her for more than 15 years.

Offering his assistance in finding the real "Auntie Terry", an Iloilo-wide search was then initiated by early July.

The task proved to be daunting since the only information available was Sajonia's name and her home province, but it eventually came to an end with an emotional reunion between Chen, his younger brother Christopher and Teresita Sajonia, in her home in Sitio Unas in San Miguel, Iloilo.

After the reunion, Chen updated the movie's official Facebook Page, posting "Ilo Ilo is a story about love, family and relationships, and we could never have imagined that a little film like this could reach out, connect, and re-connect those ties that we thought were long lost."

With the invaluable help of Cebu Pacific Air, Sajonia was eventually reunited with the Chens in Singapore, and was able to attend the Singapore premiere of Iloilo last August 24. Tony Tan, the president of Singapore, and Minda Cruz, Philippine Ambassador to Singapore, were among the premiere's guests.

To a certain extent, it can be said that Iloilo treads on two storylines.

The first is told in the movie, as it chronicles the relationship between a boy and his nanny, to end with their eventual parting, never to see each other again.

The second takes shape in the real-life reunion between Anthony Chen and Teresita Sajonia — two of the real-life personas from whom the movie's key characters and plot are loosely based on — bringing the two divergent storylines home to a full circle.

Iloilo will officially premiere in Iloilo on December 1, with director Anthony Chen, actress Angeli Bayani and Singaporean child actor Koh Jia Ler slated to be present during the occasion.

loilo is slated for Cebu advance screening on November 30, 10:30 am,  Cinema 3, Ayala Center Cebu. (FREEMAN)