KOREA FOUNDATION

Set in 1997, Ilo Ilo tells the story of Teresa, a Filipina domestic helper, as she works for the middle-class Lim family in Singapore. The film focuses particularly on the friendship between Teresa and the Lims’ son, Jiale ─ a friendship that transcends nationality, age, and gender. Ilo Ilo also tackles the social and economic problems of the era, including mass unemployment and foreign laborers, get-rich-quick dreams, and changes to the family structure. Parallels can be felt with Korea’s own IMF experiences, and any Korean audience is sure to empathize with this film which won the Camera d’Or Award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.