Modern Day Slaves - OFW Overseas Foreign Workers

About the Film [Modern Day Slaves]

Modern Day Slaves depicts the lives of Filipino OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers) who leave their home country to find work in other parts of the world. Many OFWs find themselves trapped by circumstance into working outlandishly protracted hours while earning close to nil, an existence usually spent in deplorable living environments. OFWs thus have otherwise come to be known as Modern Day Slaves. Although barely supporting themselves financially, they must send a huge portion of their earnings back home by way of remittances. OFWs therefore still seek higher wages, hoping to multiply their earnings by a range of 3 to 5 over what they would have originally earned in the Philippines.

Such remittances of hard currency present a critical lifeline and provide an influx of invaluable buying power, benefiting the home country. The Philippine government (a Third World country), actively encourages citizens to leave the country to become foreign workers. OFWs repatriated nearly 18 billion dollars back to the Philippines in p>Meanwhile, OFWs are often crammed into densely packed sleeping quarters after each long day of backbreaking work. OFWs are not only vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, but also usually live within a legal “gray zone” where they have no way to protect themselves. OFWs are outsiders in their host country, amidst unfamiliar languages and cultural traditions. They are not only unprotected but unrecognized by the laws of the countries, such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China. Thus, OFWs are easy targets for exploitation and abuse in what amounts to a slave-like existence. This, in short, adds to the story of OFWs being one of extreme sacrifice.

MODERN DAY SLAVES"
A Film By Ted Unarce
Awards and Official Selection

• Award of Excellence 2009 - The Indie Fest
• Award of Excellence 2010 - Canada International Film Festival
• 2010 El Capitan Award - Yosemite Film Festival
• Gold Kahuna Award 2010 - Honolulu Film Festival
• Twin Rivers Media Film Festival 2010 - 5th Place
• Award of Merit 2010 Doc Short - Los Angeles Cinema of Los Angeles
• HUman rights Doc Award - New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
• Best Directoria Debut for ExecProducer/Director Ted Unarce - New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
• Silver Palm Award 2010 - Mexico International Film Festival
• Nom Best Doc Award - Swansea Bay Film Festival - Wales England
• Humanitarian Award 2010 for Executive Producer/Director Ted Unarce
• 2nd Place- Best Short Documentary Award - Los Angeles Reel Film Festival
• Best Concept 2010 - Los Angeles Reel Film Festival
• Special Jury Award - Amsterdam Film Festival

• Festival de Cannes 2010 - Paris France
• Buffalo Niagara Film Festival - Buffalo NY
• International Film Festival South Africa - Cape Town South Africa
• Official Selection Swansea Bay 2010 - Wales England
• International Christian Film Festival - Ireland
• Chagrin Falls International Documentary Film Fest 2010 - Chagrin Ohio
• Heart of England Film Festival - England
• International Film Festival - Thailand
• Doc Miami - Miami Florida
• Official Selection 2010 - New York International Film Festival
• Philadelphia Docu & Fiction Festival - Philadelphia
• Official Selection - Burbank Film Festival
• Official Selection - Central Florida Film Festival
• Official Selection - International Film Festival - Ireland
• Official Selection - Los Angeles Reel Film Festival
• Official Selection - Twin Rivers Media Film