France, Lebanon, Sri Lanka 2005, 52 min, HDA Les Films du Soleil Production
by Dima AL-Joundi
REQUEST A SCREENING Maid for Sale
Sri Lankan women used to be the largest single group of foreign domestic workers in Lebanon. This film chronicles three women and their stories, charged with hope and despair.In the early 2000s, with a population of about four million in Lebanon, over 100,000 people were said to be international migrant workers of Sri Lankan origin. Most of these workers were women who work as housekeepers for Lebanese families. In order to pay off family debts or help their families, many of these women came from rural areas and left their families and children behind. Most of the time, they found themselves in a situation worse than back home, deprived of their passports, locked up in houses, working for countless hours…all this for roughly 100 dollars a month!
Sashika, Janika, and Anne-Rita are three women, going through the experience and telling us about it from the bottom of the heart. Three stories that intertwine, marked by the sending of letters back home, the swallowed tears upon departure, the long years of waiting and suffering, and the uncertain return home.
MAID FOR SALE tells their story.
Cawthar Film Festival, Cinema Novo Festival, Docatunis, Human Rights Festival Montreal, DocuDays Beirut, DOCUSUR, 8th biennial Arab Cinema Festival, International Women’s Film Festival, Arab Film Festival Amsterdam, FIPADOC, Asian Film Festival Vesoul (Winner Audience Price), Marseille Festival transdocumental, DUBAI Film Festival, Women’s Film Festival Seoul, MOSTRA of Barcelona, Amman Festival, United Nations Millennium Development Goals Competition (Winner best Documentary), Grand Prize India, Int. documentary Film Festival of Khouribga (Winner Jury Prize), Terra Di Tutti Film Festival (Winner Best Extra-European Film Award)