Northern B.C. artist tells stories of Filipino diaspora in Fort St. John with help from grant

When Filipino Canadian artistOvvian CastrilloHill moved to Canadain 2009, she didn't experience too much of a culture shock, she says, having previously lived in the U.S. for a few years as a teenager.

But the 49-year-oldartist, who lives in Fort St. John, says she soon realized other Filipino newcomers may have had adifferent experience. So she decided to make a documentary about their lives in Canada.

Nearly a decade aftershe conceived of the idea, CastrilloHill is excited to learnher project would soonbe coming to life: the documentary series,titledEx-Situ: Thriving in Our New Bayan, has been selected forthe Telus Storyhive2021 Voices program.

Castrillo Hillis one of 91 content creators selected for the inaugural program,designed to fund and train emerging artists with screen-based projectssuch as films.Selected artists must live in one of the specified B.C. or Alberta communities to qualify, and filmat least 80 per cent of their project in that community.

Like the 90 other creators selected, CastrilloHill willreceive $10,000 to produce thedocumentary,which will explore the challenges and successes of members of the Filipino diaspora in B.C.'sPeace region.She says the grant money will go tohiring video professionals and renting equipment.

Castrillo Hill has several stories she plans to include,although she says she is still looking for more people to feature in the documentary,which she will start filming in February. The documentary is slated to launchin the fall.

Filipinos are the largest Asian ethnic group in Fort St. John, home to nearly 28,000 people. According to a Statistics Canada census from 2016, there are more than 700 Filipinos living in the northeastern B.C. city.

"Newcomers, sometimes they feel that they don't have a voice," CastrilloHilltold host Carolina de Ryk on CBC's Daybreak North.

"It's not always easy for immigrants to come to Canada and especially in a place like Fort St. John, so these individuals are the ones that I like to interview, [who] have thrived here in town."

"I think their success stories are worth being told."

One of the stories she hopes to feature is that of Merlita Ryder, who came to Canada in 1999.

Ryder, who graduated with a business administration degree in Manila, Philippines, workedas a live-in caregiver in Fort St. John. Eight years later,she started a recruitment agency for caregivers looking to work with Canadian families. In addition to the agency, she now also runs her own firm as a registered immigration consultant.

The mother of four says one of the things she struggled with is adapting to parenting culture in Canada.

"Our parents [in the Philippines] are kind of strict," Ryder said. "[When] our mom tells us, 'you have to be [home] for dinner,' you have to, otherwise you'll get in trouble you're going to be beat up by a rod or a ruler.

"But here in Canada, I don't think I can do that."

Ryder says she hopes viewers of Castrillo's documentary would findthat Filipino Canadians are hard-workers with diverse talents.

Yannie Lozana, who moved to Fort St. John in 2010,is another Filipino Canadian whose storyCastrilloHill hopes to feature.

The 31-year-old started participating in the city's pride parade several years ago, but as someone who identifies as a trans woman, Lozana says she still experiences discrimination.

"I meet people [in Fort St. John] and thenthey look at me and they're like, 'Oh, okay, just a normal woman, right?' But when I tell them, 'Actually, no, I'm not, I'm actually trans,' sometimes I have to say,'I'm actually a dude.' And then some people arelike, 'Oh, okay, I don't do anything with that blah blah blah.'

"It really hurts."

Lozana says she hopesafter watching Castrillo's film, people in Fort St. John wouldbecomemore tolerant of the LGBTQ community.

"The world is changing," she said. "I'm not asking you to accept me, but maybe just respect me and the others."

LISTEN| Ovvian Castrillo explains why she wants to document the lives of Filipino Canadians in Fort St. John

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