Nurse Unseen on Tour | Unveiling the Rise and Legacy of Filipino Nurses in America

By Jennifer Redondo 

Have you ever wondered why there are so many Filipino nurses? Nursing is one of the Philippines’ biggest exports, many Filipinos migrate to the United States due to political ties as well as being well skilled professionals in great demand. Nurse Unseen is a documentary that starts out with a brief Filipino-American history lesson, intertwined with personal stories of nurses impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the little-known history and humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses who risked their lives on the front lines, while facing anti-Asian racism and violence. In 2020, although Filipinos only made up 4% of all registered nurses, they accounted for more than 30% of all nurse deaths from COVID. Why do so many nurses in the United States come from the Philippines? The answer lies within a compelling history of migration, dedication, and sacrifice that spans decades. Nurse Unseen unearths the often-overlooked story of Filipino-American nurses, tracing their journey from the Philippines to the frontlines of American healthcare. Through the lenses of history and humanity, this poignant documentary dives into personal stories of Filipino nurses who risked everything during the COVID-19 pandemic. These unsung heroes, making up just 4% of registered nurses but suffering 30% of nurse deaths from COVID-19, faced down unprecedented danger and rising anti-Asian racism. With insights from the producers and nurses themselves, Nurse Unseen unveils the resilience, courage, and unspoken challenges behind one of America’s most enduring healthcare legacies.

Nurse Unseen has received several accolades including the Global Health Competition Award at the Cleveland International Film Festival and Audience Awards for Best Documentary at CAAMFest, Asian American International Film Festival and the Boston Asian American Film Festival. Nurse Unseen is currently on the road for their United States theatrical release. Now, they’re Oscar eligible! 

Nurse Unseen is a powerful documentary by Emmy Award-winning director Michele Josue along with Carlo Velayo and Joe Arciaga. It’s executive produced by Josue, Velayo, and Jhett Tolentino. During their Los Angeles run, we had the opportunity to sit with directors/executive producers, Michele Josue and Carlo Velayo. 

1. Tell us about yourself, Carlo and Michele. 

Michele Josue: I'm Michele Josue. I'm based in Los Angeles. I’m originally from Burtonsville, Maryland – a really small suburb, way outside of D.C.. I came to Los Angeles because I wanted to become a filmmaker. At the time, LA seemed like it was the only place to do it – either Los Angeles or New York. I've been doing documentary films for quite some time now. Other than that, I try to get involved with the community here in Los Angeles. I have a side hustle with my sister called Para Sa’Yo, which is a Filipino-themed online gift shop. We do a lot of pop ups, which we have been doing for the last three years. We started in lockdown because we really wanted to have a way to stay connected to our community and we wanted to create a shop for really cool things. Other than documentaries, Para Sa’Yo keeps me busy. 

Carlo Velayo: My name is Carlo Velayo. I'm one of the producers of Nurse Unseen. I was born in General Santos City, Philippines. I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and I moved to New York about 12 years ago, but I'm currently based out of Atlanta with my partner. I met Michele about 10 years ago, when she was promoting her first film, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine. We collaborated on Happy Jail, which is a Netflix Original doc series, which is available in 190 plus countries around the globe. We're now collaborating on Nurse Unseen which had its world premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2023. We started our theatrical run on October 4th in New York City. We just had our first weekend here in LA. 

For the last five years, I have also been working at the American Museum of Natural History as a media producer. I am just very grateful that I could work on Nurse Unseen over the last three and a half years with Michele because I think it’s very timely and very necessary.

2. How did you get into making documentaries? 

Michele Josue: I’ve always been an artist and storyteller. When I was a kid, I would play with the other kids in my neighborhood and we would write skits and act in them. We would run around the neighborhood with our home video cameras. It’s been in my blood ever since I can remember. Then my mom shipped my sisters and I off to boarding school in Switzerland. She had an amazing opportunity, and it also allowed us to grow up abroad. I went to The American School in Switzerland, which was such a formative experience for me and they were really big on the arts. That’s where I discovered my love of theater. I would be in every play I could get a part. Then I started transitioning from being on stage and acting to writing real plays. I would cast my friends in my plays, similar to what I would do in the neighborhood when I was little. From there, I was convinced that I wanted to keep this going. That’s when I decided to go into filmmaking professionally. 

I got into Emerson College in Boston. I was focused on learning what it is to be a filmmaker. I became very interested in narrative filmmaking and script writing. One summer, I got a chance to come back to my boarding school because they wanted to hire someone to do a short documentary on the 50 year history of the school. Since I wanted the opportunity to be in Europe again, I  took on this project not knowing anything. Even though I didn’t know how to really do anything, except that I really loved it! I loved speaking with real people, interviewing them and hearing about their stories, and then combining it all together and creating something that was very special and probably better than whatever I could write. That's how I got into documentaries. It took me a long time – from my school, to my first job, then my first official documentary credit, which is Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine. Even though I knew that that film would be the first one that I wanted to do, I really wanted to gain more professional experience. 

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine is a project about a friend of mine, Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was murdered 26 years ago. He was beaten, tortured and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. This story really shook the entire nation and the world. It really shed light on what was happening to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. This really shook me because Matt was one of my best friends in high school. We met through theater while at boarding school. We would run around with his home video camera on campus. His murder really changed me. When I saw his story unfold, I was struck by how his story wasn’t given the right amount of dignity. It wasn’t given the right amount of nuance that he deserved. He was more than this murder. He was more than the egregious, violence and hate that took his life. He was a wonderful person, a wonderful friend, and he had extraordinary potential. I knew that I owed it to him to tell his story. This was that one project that really taught me what it's like to be a documentary filmmaker. This personal life-changing moment motivated me into making personal documentary films that hopefully, inspire a lot of social change and inspire people to be more compassionate and accepting and caring with another one. 

Carlo Velayo: Growing up, my family took a lot of photos. When I was living in Sydney, I remember my uncle had a video camera and he took videos when we went to the Philippines. I was fascinated by the idea of recording family events. So when we came back to Australia, my parents bought a video camera, and it was glued to my hands! I started with a Panasonic Handycam. Around that time, I was in high school, and my  brother had just started graphic design school to become an animator.  We had an Apple desktop computer which had iMovie. I recorded tons of videos – whether it was a Christmas party, a birthday or a bushfire. I wanted to be a video journalist. I was captivated with the idea of capturing stories,  reporting and then sharing it with a broader audience. It was just my family, but there was something really communal that brought my relatives together. I thought it was very powerful – we all gather and sit in front of the TV to watch what I’ve put together. That inspired me to pursue my passion. 

In my final year of high school, I completed several English units. I also made a short film that I shot, directed, produced and edited. It was one of those experiences that was so much fun. Like Michele, that’s when I realized I could make a career of this. Luckily, my parents were supportive of me going to film school. In addition, I did a double degree. I also studied International Studies, and that allowed me to do a year abroad. I did an exchange program in the Philippines because I was always fascinated by my Filipino heritage and history. That’s why I went to the Philippines to study Tagalog and Philippine history and culture at Ateneo. I bought a Sony HDV camera, which I brought around Manila and the Philippines. I even made a short documentary about penitence, to demonstrate how people would nail themselves to the cross like the crucifixion. So once again, this idea of being invited into people's homes and sharing their stories, being able to document it on camera, edit it and present it, really inspired me. During the time I graduated, there was a global financial crisis. I didn't know if I was going to be able to make this a career. I even had lecturers say the best thing for you to do is get a safe and secure nine-to-five job and then make your documentaries or your films on the side. 

I went into the public service in Australia, but I ended up making videos for the Australian Government. A lot of people were asking me why I wasn’t doing this full-time in the media space. Because I was passionate about filmmaking, I decided to get back into the production industry. I worked in VFX, where I worked on Happy Feet Two by George Miller and The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann.Then, one of my friends moved to New York and needed a producer to work on her first feature film. That’s how I moved from Sydney to New York. That's where I met Michele. Over the years, I wanted to capture and document real life stories. People are just so much more powerful and so much more dynamic and nuanced than anything that I could ever write. I still love working on narrative films. However, there's something so special about documentaries where someone is entrusting their life for you to document on film for people to see. Then there’s the business aspect of film – the funding, budgeting and scheduling. Then there's also the creative and also the very personal aspect of documentary where you are let into people's lives which I think is just a privilege.

3. What did your parents say when you told them that you wanted to get into the arts? 

Michele Josue: My parents have always been supportive of my pursuit of the arts. Although it was really expensive, I took out a lot of loans.  I ended up getting a scholarship, which was amazing because otherwise I don't think I would have been able to go to Emerson. Since I was a little girl, my parents were very supportive. Now, my mom goes to as many screenings as she can. My family is very involved, and my sister, Anna, is a very important part of our team. She's been with me from day one and we work on all projects together. It's really a family affair, which is so nice because I understand that some families don't necessarily provide that amount of support.  

Carlo Velayo: My parents have been very supportive as well. I was dubbed the golden child, as the youngest of three. My older brother and sister didn’t go to university. When I was in a position to go to university, my parents were questioning why I wasn’t going to study law, medicine, or architecture. My parents were very supportive of my decision to go to the University of Technology, Sydney to study Communication (Media Arts and Production).  At the time, it was a very coveted program. My parents were just so proud that I had been admitted and that I was going to a university. Eventually, I did go into public service, which I thought would make them happy because it was a safe and secure job. But when I told them, this isn't for me, I really want to go into the media industry, I could tell that they were happy that I was happy. I think that's the most important thing. That's the best way of honoring their sacrifices and what they've built for us – because now we're able to choose what we want to do, as opposed to being forced to do something that we're not going to be happy doing for the rest of our lives. I think that's the best way for us to honor our parents and what they have given us. 

4. At what point in your career did you start to create Filipino content? 

Michele Josue: During my last semester in college, I came to Los Angeles. Emerson had an off campus program in LA, which I decided to do so that I could intern at production companies. I ended up interning at two companies because I'm extra and I wanted to get double the experience. I got a lot of experience that year but it was a lot of personal assistant (PA) type experience. I was reading scripts, making a bunch of Xerox copies, and I became really good at getting water and lunches. Because I was driving around Los Angeles, I became really good at navigating around LA. This was before Waze and Google Maps. It was old school, think MapQuest printed out directions, which I used to drive and hold at the same time! Those are my first experiences in the industry. I would go on Craigslist and apply to any film ad where they were asking for interns or PAs. I just tried to get as much experience as I could. 

My first official job where I got a paycheck in Hollywood was Alvin and the Chipmunks. I worked in the art department, and I loved that job.  It was so exciting to go on to the lot. It was so exciting to see the studios and to be in Hollywood. I was exposed to other shows, and it was just really cool to just be around that energy and the set building. It was so exciting, even though I only made $7 an hour. I worked 12 hours a day, and that was not sustainable. My partner at the time was trying to encourage me to do the type of stories that I got into the business to make. I’ve always talked about making a documentary about my friend Matthew Shepard. So I took the big leap after working on Alvin and the Chipmunks 1, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, and Ugly Betty. It was terrifying, but I did it! I'm really glad that I took that risk. I've learned so much more than in film school. I'm just learning so much by just doing. I've messed up a lot, but I've also had a lot of triumphs and I think that's just part of the whole journey. In terms of being not only a filmmaker but an artist, you’ve really got to take those types of chances. 

I didn't set out on this path of being a filmmaker to tell Filipino stories. Growing up in the States, my parents didn't speak to us in Tagalog. It was never articulated, never really said, but it was almost understood. We had to assimilate and kind of compartmentalize our identities. Filipino food was for home, and when you're in school, you're as American as can be. My auntie would pack rice and adobo for lunch, and I remember bringing that to school and being made fun of. That’s when I took note: never bring Filipino food to school ever again! As I got older, that stuck with me – my public facing persona is American. In school, we were only taught American history. We didn't really know much about Filipino American history.  I didn't have the privilege of growing up in California, where they offer Asian American Studies. We didn’t have access to those types of classes, and I certainly didn’t have that when I went to middle school and high school in Switzerland. When I was living abroad, I was so excited to find an Asian restaurant in downtown Lugano, Switzerland. I would buy lumpia wrappers and rice noodles, and make Filipino food to sell. I didn’t do it to make money, but really because I wanted to share my food.

It took some time for me to come around to really intertwining my Filipino identity and stories from my Filipino community and Filipino family into my work. I was scared that no one would really care. I wasn’t sure if there would be an audience for it. When I made Matt Shepard, I highlighted his voice as someone who also struggled with his identity. Seeing how that touched so many people around the world, I knew these are the types of stories I really want to continue uplifting underrepresented voices. I wanted to show the world that their stories really matter. I had a real hard talk with myself and reflected on what I wanted to continue doing if I was going to continue to be a filmmaker. I wanted to continue on this path to telling stories that matter, stories that were really important to me while gaining a deeper connection to my Filipino heritage and Filipino community.

Carlo Velayo: I grew up in Sydney. My parents were very vocal about us being Filipino. There was a large diaspora in a particular part of Sydney, but they didn't necessarily want to live in that community. They wanted us to continue being proud of our Filipino heritage, but they also wanted us to embrace the Australian way of life. A lot of my aunts were married to Caucasian Australian men. So my cousins were half Filipino half Australian – there was always that dynamism and duality of “Am I Filipino?”. I am Australian, but I am also Filipino because both of my parents are Filipino. 

We grew up in a typical Filipino household. My dad cooked spamsilog and tapsilog for breakfast. We had sinigang and all of the amazing Filipino dishes. My dad’s parents had a restaurant back in the Philippines. We dubbed our kitchen counter as “Tatay’s (Dad’s) Counter” because everyone gathers around Filipino food. Growing up, I was always fascinated by Philippine history, particularly World War II because my mom was born just after liberation. She would tell stories about my grandparents and how they were in the jungle when the Philippines was under Japanese occupation. One of my uncles died because they were living out in the jungle and he spilled boiling water on himself. Even though I was in Australia, I wanted to learn more about what it means to be Filipino. I was always intrigued by how the Japanese occupied the Philippines. Even though I was in Australia, it was like a jigsaw puzzle that I always wanted to put together but could never do so because there were pieces that I’ve never seen. There was always that interest and that desire to learn more about Philippine history. I went to Ateneo and spent a year there which was very fulfilling. That time really helped me fill in some of those blanks. It wasn’t until I moved to the U.S. that I realized there are so many Filipinos in New York.  I got to meet people like Gigi Dement, who is an Oscar winning producer.  Through her, I met Jhett Tolentino, a three-time Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning producer. While Michele and I were filming Happy Jail in Cebu, I came back to New York and met Isabel Sandoval, with whom I collaborated on Lingua Franca. 

So all of that to say, when I came to the U.S., a lot of these pieces started coming together. When I first met Michele, we both said we really want to tell more Filipino stories and that's when it clicked!  We wanted to work on projects centered on Filipino stories and identities that could break the mainstream. For example, Happy Jail told  the story of the dancing inmates in Cebu, Philippines that went viral when they danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We ended up working on this original documentary series for Netflix, which is shown around the world! And then two weeks after our world premiere of Happy Jail, I went to Venice where Lingua Franca world premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. Lingua Franca is a story about an undocumented transgender Filipina caregiver in New York looking after a elderly Jewish woman. I started to realize that we can actually tell our Filipino-centered stories, and present them on the world stage and even on a global streaming platform.

Nurse Unseen is just the culmination of all of those stories of being an immigrant being of service, telling the colonial history and how that impacted Philippine education and the waves of migration to the U.S. The puzzle is starting to finally take shape. I'm just hoping that it becomes something that is in the DNA of the projects that I work on – all of these incredible identities coming together.

5. How did the two of you start collaborating? 

Michele Josue: We met through a friend of mine during the showing of Matt Shepard. We had coffee, and from there we really hit it off because it seemed that we could be really good friends and good collaborators. We worked together on a short documentary piece that I directed for the Matt Shepard Foundation, and it was great! We loved working together, so we decided to continue with Happy Jail. I brought Carlo onto the team as our field producer. We traveled to Cebu, and we ended up as roommates and that’s how we got even closer. Hopefully, we will continue to collaborate. 

Carlo Velayo: In April 2016, I visited Michele in LA. I have this habit of bringing my passport wherever I travel, even if it’s domestic travel. Michele was just about to go to the Philippines to do the tech scout for Happy Jail. I had my passport and we flew to the Philippines together. We went back in the summer, and during that time, things were escalating with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

Like with Happy Jail, we really wanted to see where the story would take us. With Nurse Unseen, we saw the National Nurses United report, and we saw that there was a disproportionate number of Filipino nurses dying from COVID. Michele had always wanted to do a documentary about her Tita Dodo, and this was our chance. Around April 2021, we were vaccinated and we were able to go out into the field to start speaking with nurses and their families.

Michele Josue: During COVID, I wasn't working. After Happy Jail, I didn't work until April 2021. That’s why when I started to think about what endeavor I could do? I did a lot of research and reflected on what this could be. I was very frustrated, just staying at home and watching all the news reports and being terrified.

6. What do you hope viewers will take away from Nurse Unseen? 

Michele Josue: We definitely wanted the film to be as genuine as possible. It's so touching to hear from people who come up to us after watching Nurse Unseen, sharing that it’s reflective of their life and what they went through. I wanted it to feel like a love letter. This is their real life playing out on screen. 

I hope that viewers will connect with these stories, and I hope that it will pull on their heartstrings. When I go about doing a documentary, that's my first focus – I want it to feel very human, and I always want to get back to the humanity of the story. I wanted to do my research and lay that out, but make sure it was really intertwined with the humanity of every story. When I read Empire of Care by Dr. Catherine Ceniza Choy,  that was such a foundational text for the film and the structure of the film, and the great jumping off point for the history. 

During the development phase, we reached out to the Filipino Nurses Association of America. We had a lot of extensive zoom calls with them. Many of their board members would talk about things that they were going through and what they wanted to see in the film. They talked a lot about immigration, mental health, and burn out. They definitely had a lot of influence, in terms of who they thought we should speak to. Our casting for the film was really organic. We also paired up with two nurse producers, colleagues of mine here in Los Angeles who wanted to go about making a short documentary about nurses who passed during COVID. Our project definitely would benefit from their expertise, their lived experience and we just combined forces. 

We made this film to teach ourselves about Filipino-American history. History has such a hand in what's happening to us today. It’s almost a shame that I didn't really wrap my brain around this sooner. I don’t know why I wasn't super curious about how that history was playing out in my life. After all, it's the very reason my family is here, because my aunt was one of those pioneering women who came in 1968. They had to come to the U.S. and build a community from scratch. If it weren’t for her, my sisters and I wouldn’t be able to have the lives that we have now. Nursing and the deliberate policy decisions of the Philippines in the United States, had such a huge hand in all of that. It's so incredible, and as a storyteller, it's mind-blowing. 

One of my favorite movies is Wayne’s World. When I saw Tia Carrera on the screen, I was like, my God, I have a feeling she's Filipino. I've never seen someone who kind of looked brown, like me on the big screen and that was so inspiring to me. I’ve seen that movie a hundred times, and that planted the seed. I started acting in school plays and when you start seeing yourself reflected in the history books or on screen – whether it's on TV or in films, it's validating and you're like, “My story is worthy. There are people like me up there.” To be in that place where I can provide that for other people,  I'm very blessed to do what I do. I am very very proud! 

7. How did you decide it’s time to make and release Nurse Unseen? 

Carlo Velayo: I was very fortunate, after Happy Jail, my partner and I moved back to New York. I was able to find a job at the American Museum of Natural History. I started on January 15, 2020, and I was working on a project about the Pacific Northwest and the First Nations and Indigenous communities in that region. Two months later, the museum shut down, but I was still working on the project because the funding had already been confirmed. I was able to continue working even during the pandemic. Since it was all remote, I was working from Alabama which is where my partner’s family is from.  We were there for three months before coming back to New York. I was just very grateful because as an immigrant, I would not have qualified for unemployment or any of those benefits during the pandemic. That’s when Michele said that we should really focus on Nurse Unseen. 

Michele Josue: Nurse Unseen would not exist if we didn’t decide to just finally do this. We said we’re going to do this and it's gonna be scrappy. It still continues to be very scrappy, but we will just try to get ourselves to that next phase. We did not set out to be Oscar eligible. So the idea of it is daunting and there are times where you're questioning yourself and whether you have enough money or whether it's the right project. But you can't wait for someone to say, “Here's a platform. I give you permission to tell your own story.” F*** that! You’ll be waiting. We would still be waiting until now. 

8. To make Nurse Unseen, you ran two kickstarter campaigns with the help of the community. What happens after you receive funding? 

Michele Josue: We didn't want to wait for permission. We decided to do a Kickstarter by reaching out to the community, doing whatever we could to get this project off the ground. In an ideal world, you would have a production company that would open up their wallets and 100% sign up for this project. They provide the money and the budget. Unfortunately, we didn’t have access to those types of resources. Hopefully, one day I will. Even with Happy Jail, we had private investments and we put in money to make that happen ourselves. We may not have the funds, but we definitely have the will power and work ethic to find a way to make it happen. 

That’s when we reached out to the community. Kickstarter is really amazing because, if you reach that goal, you get the money that you asked to do the project. But you also meet hundreds or a thousand or so advocates for the film, who will have a little bit of ownership in the film. They really want to help you, and they believe in you, and they put money behind that belief to make sure that this film happens. We feel an enormous obligation to our supporters, our day ones, to make sure that this film is good. We want them to feel that it was worthy of their investment.

When we did the second Kickstarter campaign, I ended up in the emergency room (ER). It was in conjunction with our world premiere in Cleveland. My body just shut down on me. I ended up having a very serious infection and COVID on top of that. When I landed in the ER, I was treated by the wonderful healthcare workers there. So It was very ironic! 

Carlo Velayo: In addition to doing all of that, we were doing our due diligence, taking meetings, pitching the film to the mainstream industry, gatekeepers, and just trying to get doors opened. Unfortunately, they all said no! They all thought Nurse Unseen was great, but the story is very specific to the Filipino experience. It was too niche for them. The world just wasn’t interested in a film about COVID. It’s disheartening at times, when people would say things like, it's just a little too niche or, people are suffering from COVID fatigue. It just felt like we were making the right film but it just was ahead of its time.  

Now, we really need to tell our Kickstarter backers that we are Oscar eligible. This is kind of how it works, we are doing this as we go. There's no textbook to say, step one and then If you do step one correctly, there's step two. There are so many different ways that we could have produced this project and there were many times where we asked ourselves do we still continue? Is it even financially viable for us to continue? Is this financially responsible? 

We ended up winning four audience choice awards during the film festival circuit. We've done some community screenings. We are now doing our theatrical tour, and who knew that we would sell out four shows in New York? We had no idea or expectation that Nurse Unseen’s per theater average (PTA) was going to be higher than the PTA of the top 10 films. Opening weekend, we did better than Joker, Megalopolis and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. They certainly made a lot more money, but considering we were only on one screen, we garnered $10,500 in three days! Now if that's not community, I don't know what is! 

9. What’s next? 

Michele Josue: We got invited to the White House on October 21st! We received an official invitation and we will present an excerpt of Nurse Unseen. We will be taking part in their official Filipino American History Month celebration which is very, very exciting. While that's happening, we will still be expanding our theatrical rollout. We have screening engagements in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. In Seattle, we have two sold out screenings, and then we'll end the month in New Orleans, which coincides with a huge nursing conference. We're just going to try and do our best. We will continue building momentum from the community’s support.

Carlo Velayo: We've submitted our application to the Academy. Now, we just keep on riding this train. We are going to see where this is taking us and just keep doing our best. I mean, just to get to this point is such a blessing and in a miracle, really. It's a big deal especially in this day and age to complete an independent film. And to have a theatrical run to fulfill the requirements to be Oscar eligible is incredible! We're gonna just at least try to get into the conversation. And then, God willing we will figure out where else folks can watch Nurse Unseen.

We've been in talks with some distribution places, so we're really hoping that we can lock one down so that we can get on a streaming platform to make the film more widely available. We make films so that other people can see them. That's the main goal, and then, we are looking towards bringing the film internationally. We have our sights set on the Philippines, as well as other regions with a lot of Filipinos like the Middle East, Canada and Australia.

Michele Josue: We definitely want to get this film in the curriculum, to have it taught in schools. We're thinking about doing a 60-minute cut down version of the film, that's more conducive to classroom settings building a lesson plan around the film. There's just so much potential here, and there's just so much more that we could do with Nurse Unseen. 

Carlo Velayo: Ideally as you said, we would win the Oscar. That would be amazing. We are talking to the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) because they gave us a post-production grant. As part of that, we are talking and being considered for a PBS strand, which would be fantastic. We're taking one step at a time, keeping our eye on the bigger picture. We want to be able to share this film with as many people as possible. We're not done just yet. There is still so much we can do. We're grateful for people and our community, helping us amplify the message. It's really important to get more people to talk about it. We need critical mass to see and talk about it. 

Michele Josue: It's just heartwarming to see that the film is resonating on so many different levels. That's what we had hoped for this film.

Carlo Velayo: This shouldn't just be reserved for October or May. People should be able to talk about this throughout the year and for years to come because it is such an important part of U.S. history. With everything, the ancestors are gonna keep ancestoring! 

10. How can the community help? 

Carlo Velayo: Word of mouth is exactly what we need right now. We need people to tell others, they saw the film, and encourage others to watch the film. I think that is the most powerful thing that we have right now. We don't have money for ad campaigns. We don't have money for splashy events but people have been hosting launch events, after parties and receptions in the film's honor. That also projects and amplifies the message of why Nurse Unseen is a worthy film and people should watch it. 

Even if Filipino American History Month comes to an end and people are still thinking about the stories from Nurse Unseen,  that will really help keep us in the conversation for our Oscar campaign, for future screenings, for a streaming launch or going to different countries. We would still be part of that conversation so we really need people to say if they liked the film to really shout it out and encourage other people to watch it. That's the best piece of social media and advertising that we can receive. 

Michele Josue: That would be really great because we're such an underdog, not many people know about us but I feel like the momentum is shifting and people are discovering the film and wanting to talk about it and post about it. We just would love to have more and more of that and then we'll go from there. Hopefully, we can connect with high profile people invested in these stories in the community. Just doing a post or something would amplify that even further and be just a ripple effect. But it really starts with our core community. That would be a dream just to keep increasing the exposure and awareness of this really important film. 

11. How can people find you? 

Carlo Velayo: They can find us on our website: Nurse Unseen. We are also active on Instagram @nurseunseendoc. We are pretty accessible. On our website, we have an option where you can inquire about hosting a screening. That has been helping us bring the film to different community groups across the country. 

Michele Josue: Thank you Jennifer for this opportunity and for coming out to see the film. It’s really a special experience watching it in the theater, and I am so glad you got to be part of that experience and how special you got to bring your mom. Thanks for sharing how the film  triggered her into sharing more stories about her life that she didn't share with you before.That's also why I wanted to make the film. When we heard that report about our nurses and my tita dying, you stop and think about it. That’s a whole generation passing away and all that history goes with them! Like your mom, my auntie didn't talk a lot about her work. This was my way of capturing this before the opportunities are gone forever. So to hear that your mom was able to reflect and share more with you, probably for the first time, is so beautiful. It really means a lot to me so thanks for sharing that.

Nurse Unseen is making its theatrical run in select theaters around the United States. Check their website to find tickets in a city near you.

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Written by Jennifer Redondo

Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose

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