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Stories & Insights: Meet Kent Donguines
January 27, 2025
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kent Donguines. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kent below.
Kent, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is my first STORYHIVE-funded film, Kalinga (Care). It’s a short documentary about Filipino caregivers and nannies in Vancouver. The project is personal to me because it helped me understand the struggles my mom went through when she had to leave me when I was six to work abroad.
The film gave a voice to the Filipino community and their experiences, and through Story Money Impact’s Story to Action program, we were able to share these stories with more people. We hosted panel discussions with the people featured in the film, along with policymakers, lawyers, and activists. It was a way to bring these important conversations to the forefront, especially around issues like immigration and workers’ rights.
The film has also played a part in influencing the upcoming changes to Canada’s Caregiver Program, which is set to be updated in 2025. The whole experience made me realize how much power stories have in creating real change. It even led to a follow-up documentary I recently finished called Canadian Adobo with TELUS Originals, produced by Mack Stannard, Aimer Films, and Moon7 Films. This project has been meaningful not just because of the impact it’s had on me personally, but also because it’s helped raise awareness and hopefully contributed to positive changes in our community.
