Ilongga nanny, who inspired Cannes film winner, found

CEBU, Philippines - An Ilongga nanny, behind the inspiration of a Singaporean film that won an award at the Cannes Film Festival this year, was located by the media in her residence in San Miguel, Iloilo last Sunday.

Teresita Sajonia, now aged 55, was the nanny named "Auntie Terry" in the full-length film Iloilo of Singaporean independent film director Anthony Chen. The film won the Camera d' Or Prize (Best First Film) in the recent Cannes Film Festival. Chen was the first Singaporean to win such an award.

"Auntie Terry" was successfully located by members of DyFM Bombo Radyo at sitio Unas in Brgy. Santa Cruz of San Miguel town Saturday night and several journalists from other media outlets went to her abode Sunday morning.

Interest in locating "Auntie Terry" grew after Chen revealed what or who inspired him to make the movie Iloilo — a moving story about a Singaporean family and their nanny.

Set in Singapore in the 1990s, the film revolves around how one dysfunctional family bears with their Filipina maid Teresa or "Auntie Terry" (played by Filipina indie actress Angeli Bayani), who left her homeland in search of "greener pasture."

Being in a faraway land when one is accustomed to the culture of another, Auntie Terry's rapport with her employers was nowhere near intimate at first. Eventually, she developed a motherly bond with the troublesome Jale Chen (played by young actor Koh Jia Ler) whom she was bound to take care of.

"The movie is very much inspired by my childhood years," Jale, now 29, told the Malaysian electronic newspaper The Sun. "When I was young, we had a Filipino maid who was with us for eight years. We called her Auntie Terry," he said.

Jale confessed he belonged to a generation of Singaporeans who were reared with the help of Filipino hands. "When Auntie Terry returned (to the Philippines) for good, it was hard to bear. Eventually, we got used to her absence and somehow lost contact. The one thing that stayed with me after all these years is the name of the place she was from," he said

Sajonia, the nanny, was only 30 when she flew to Singapore and work with the Chen family for eight years in the early 1990s until the financial crisis hit the region, forcing her employers to drop her services.

Sajonia said she did not expect her life in Singapore would inspire Jale, one of the three Chen boys she nursed, to someday make a film about it.

Sajonia said she would like to see the Chen family again if given the chance. She is now married but has no children. She is a midwifery graduate, but now, she sells fruits and vegetables in San Miguel.

When she was located by Iloilo media, Sajonia cried tears of joy upon seeing the photos of the Chen family.  (FREEMAN)