FAITH HEALERS will have its World Premiere at the Manila International Film Festival on March 7, 2025!
A Feature Documentary
Written, Directed, and Produced by Regina Aquino
FAITH HEALERS is the untold history of Filipino doctors who left their homeland to care for Americans. Through the life of Dr. Zorayda Lee-Llacer, we witness an immigrant's journey and her many contributions to American healthcare. By exploring the complicated colonial history between the USA and the Philippines, we grasp the enormity of the challenges and achievements of a vibrant Filipino American community that grew just outside the nation's capital in Prince George’s County, MD. Along with the story of Zorayda, the film dives into the lives of 2nd generation Filipino Americans and how the Philippines continues to shape their identities from afar. Its an exemplary story of sacrifice and service by a people who are too often erased from the American narrative. At its heart, FAITH HEALERS is about Filipino kapwa - our shared humanity - and the importance of honoring history, celebrating culture, and telling our own story.“If we did not document these stories - if we can't tell our own story then someone else will tell our story for us or our history is erased. It'll just not be told.”
-Rita Cacas
Filipinos were the first Asians to land on American soil in 1587 and are currently the 3rd largest AAPI ethnicity in the US, yet the culture is still largely invisible in history books and media. The erasure of the contributions and struggles of these physicians is an example of the ongoing invisibility. As many of those doctors are now elderly or have passed, the loss of their stories creates a devastating gap in personal and societal history. This negatively impacts all future generations of both Filipinos and Americans. We must capture this knowledge and celebrate our forebears now. It is imperative that we preserve and promote our community. Know history, know self. A film about Filipinos on the East Coast, a story about diasporic Filipinos world wide.
“The traits that help shape a Filipino physician’s mindset are the values of optimism, of the saying:
HABANG MAY BUHAY MAY PAG-ASA
when there's life there's hope.”
-Dr. Jun Quion
Meet the Producers
-
Regina Aquino
Writer, Director, Executive Producer
-
Dr. Randy Lizardo
Executive Producer
-
Francis Manuel Abbey
Co-Producer