Geena Rocero tells inspiring Filipino stories in Emmy-nominated 'Caretakers'

November 4 ------ Geena Rocero took one of the biggest risks of her career when she embarked on a new role as a filmmaker last year.

It paid off in a significant way as her PBS series 'Caretakers,' under its Chasing the Dream banner, scored four nominations at the 65th annual New York Emmy Awards last month. "It's just such an honor to be there and to be in the room with so many journalists that you respect and people that are creating this incredible work. I couldn't ask for a better directorial debut. I obviously was honored to share that with the people - We know so many of these people in our community, so I really wanted to highlight them. So it was a good experience," Rocero said.

'Caretakers' consists of four episodes that profile heroic Filipino Americans whose seemingly ordinary lives changed when the pandemic happened and they stood up to help people on the front lines. These Filipinos include Belinda Ellis, a nurse for Covid-19 patients at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York; and Aleksa Manila, a therapist who shared compassion in unexpected ways. Also featured are Chef Channing Centeno, who cooked for Black Lives Matter protestors; and Angel Bonilla, a phlebotomist who was also the first transgender contestant on 'The Voice'.

In making the documentary, Rocero wanted to make sure that the history of Filipinos in care work is not erased but celebrated. "I just remember seeing on the news - on top of obviously the racial reckoning that we were having, on top of the violence that we're seeing that was being inflicted upon our elders - the frontline voices of Filipino Americans are not being heard. And I know so much more of our frontline workers in our community that are beyond more than just frontline workers. Filipinos that have dreams, Filipinos that are also artists. Filipinos that are dimensional and not just seen as a worker."

The New York-based model-activist-filmmaker is also writing her memoir coming out in May 2023.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com