Obrero as Transmedia Documentary Project

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Obrero ('worker') is an independent multi-platform documentary project. It tells the stories of Filipino rebuild workers temporarily migrating to Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand after the earthquake in 2011. The project is comprised of three media formats, the documentary film, the interactive documentary (i-doc) and the social media page. Not only using multiple platforms, Obrero also employs a transjournalistic mode of representation, expanding the reportage of labour migration through different documentary variants. The project aims to contextualise labour migration in the Philippines by featuring Filipino workers in Christchurch as documentary participants and using the earthquake rebuild as a backdrop to its narrative. It stimulates social transformation by providing media platforms that explore the issues, struggles, and realities confronting our modern-day overseas workers.

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Although focused on the Filipino migrants, Obrero represents a bigger global labour migration trend. Recent statistics shows that roughly 258 million people have migrated and taken residence outside their country of origin. The focus on the Philippines’ experience, however, is an important case study given the nation’s reputation as a “pioneer” in the “global enterprise” of labour. Therefore, while Obrero documentary explores the experience of a relatively small number of migrants working in New Zealand, the project is applicable elsewhere, as economic issues, migration policies, and social impact of migration transcend geographic boundaries.

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​Dedication

Obrero is dedicated to all Overseas Filipino Workers in New Zealand and worldwide.

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Funding 

Obrero would not have been possible without the logistical, academic, and funding support of the University of Auckland.   

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