Opportunity to Boost Maramara’s Short ‘Homestay’

Writer/Director Mia Maramara (DEGANZ) is crowdfunding on Boosted for her upcoming short film, Homestay.

The short follows a Filipino nurse who finds herself trapped between losing her job or losing her mind when her dementia patient pushes her to abuse an experimental procedure. It investigates the pressures of immigration, financial precarity, and the insidious exploitation of migrant labour.

Homestay is part of a much larger story, serving as the prequel to Mia’s feature film in development. Through her work, Mia illuminates the sobering realities many Filipino migrants face in Aotearoa and abroad.

Mia shares about the impact this project has, saying,

As a migrant worker myself, I know what it means to keep your mouth shut, do the job, and swallow your own expertise. This is a story for every migrant who has traded their body, labour, or future for a chance at survival. And it’s also a story about how deeply we rely on those sacrifices as a society. By telling it now, we hope to spark dialogue, empathy, and change.

The film is shooting next month in October, and is seeking to raise $11,000 to go towards covering production costs, props, camera gear, post-production, and paying cast and crew.

You can find out more about the project, where the funds raised will go, and donate on the Boosted Page.

Last updated on 17 September 2025