Family Ties

Fledgling filmmaker Justin Cheung, whose first documentary premieres this month, tells Cherry Lai how he hopes to shift the narrative on Hong Kong’s domestic helpers.

- Cherry Lai

Being the eldest son of Hong Kong film director Alfred Cheung, 23-yearold Justin Cheung’s knack for storytelling should come as no surprise, though the speed with which he threw himself into his first project—and its subject—may to some. Just over a year ago, having graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a major in film and a minor in political science, Justin and six fellow former film students started production on Yaya, a 30-minute documentary that explores the “intimate and complex relationship” between a Filipino domestic worker and her employers, with funds raised through crowdsourcing. (Yaya is a Philippine English noun for a woman employed by a family to look after a child or sick or elderly members.) Through asking hard questions and presenting an intimate portrayal of Justin’s own Filipina yaya, Teresita Lauang, who has spent 34 years away from her family, the issues of the mistreatment and marginalisation of the domestic labour force are placed centre stage in an effort to spark an overdue conversation in the community. When we met, Justin, with Teresita by his side, spoke about empathy, family, and the emotional and physical journey involved in this compelling project.

What inspired this documentary?