The social mistreatment of caregivers is interrogated in indie film “Mongrel,” which will debut at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
Written and directed by Chiang Wei Liang, “Mongrel” follows Oom (Wanlop Rungkumjad), a professional caregiver who has no papers or formal training but is good at caring for the elderly and disabled. When his situation as a caregiver in the mountains becomes too much for him, he has to choose between survival or dignity.
Kuo Shu-Wei and Atchara Suwan also star.
Liang told IndieWire that the inspiration for “Mongrel” came from his own personal experiences working as a caregiver in Taiwan.
“The film came from a convergence of personal experiences and societal observations,” he said. “My own journey as a caregiver, alongside encounters with migrant caregivers, laid the groundwork.”
In a press statement, Liang reflected on how “Mongrel” is unfortunately a universal story that enters on the “precarious, invisible lives of undocumented migrant workers,” which filmmaker Liang has made his mission to capture onscreen.
“Although ‘Mongrel’ is a work of fiction, it is drawn from my own experiences and the stories of countless others I have met from the Southeast Asian community here in Taiwan,” he said. “It brings together two things that are very personal to me: the physical and emotional toll that palliative care extracts from the caregiver, and how much more so when the caregiver-in-question is an immigrant.”
Liang pointed to the culture of caregiving in remote areas, especially the dependence on undocumented immigrants to take on those jobs.
“For rural communities with limited access to healthcare, illegal caregivers are the last resort,” Liang said. “Mostly coming from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, these men and women are not trained medical professionals – they provide help with daily tasks and manage the basic physical needs of their patients. In many ways, these migrant caregivers can become closer to the patient than the family members who hire them, yet are foreigners in the domestic space. How far is too far for someone to care for us? And who cares for the caregiver – especially when he or she is a migrant worker?”
Liang concluded to IndieWire, “I believed that if fortune would have us, Director’s Fortnight was the perfect place for a film like ours, and I’m incredibly grateful that this Mongrel could find a home in this selection.”
“Mongrel” premieres at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Alpha Violet is handling international sales. Check out the trailer below.
