Support Be Not Afraid: A Community Film

Summary

A migrant Filipino family finds community after a racist attack. Made by an all-AAPI filmmaking team, Be Not Afraid is a feature-length documentary about hope, trauma, and the sacrifices immigrants make for a chance at a better life.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to connect with immigrant communities, especially overseas Filipino workers and survivors of anti-Asian hate, and let them know: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We aim to inspire audiences with a moving story about the healing power of community care and collective action.

The Story

Nerissa and Gabriel Roque, a married Filipino couple, come to California to work. They send wages back home for their kids Patricia, Ysabel, and Patrick who live with their Lola in the Philippines. After a decade apart, the family reunites in Los Angeles and hopes to live the American dream. One night outside a fast food restaurant in 2022, their lives are upended by a stranger. He yells racist slurs and assaults the elder Roques, breaking Gabriel’s rib and bruising Nerissa’s neck as their youngest daughter desperately tries to help.

Be Not Afraid follows the Roques’ journey from victims to leaders as they seek justice for the attack on their family. The family inspires a spirited, multicultural cast of community organizers to support their case and launch a campaign called “Justice for the Roques.” Through intimate access to the Roque family, our film explores the family’s past ghosts and daily struggles as their case tests the limits of the U.S. court system and the Philippine State. Ultimately, Be Not Afraid is the story of an immigrant family finding dignity and strength in their community and each other.

Millions of Filipinos and immigrants like the Roques have faced the difficult choice to migrate abroad for the chance to make a decent living—opportunities that no longer exist in their home country because of governmental corruption and continued U.S. imperialism. Once they arrive, immigrants often struggle with labor exploitation, family separation, and discrimination. On top of that, anti-Asian and anti-immigrant rhetoric by politicians and the pandemic fueled a surge in anti-AAPI hate crimes across the U.S.

Yet Filipinos have a history of challenging injustice. In the 1960s, Larry Itliong, a Filipino American labor organizer led a multiracial coalition of farm workers in the Delano grape strike and won higher wages and safer working conditions for workers. Our film provides a modern day example of the power of collective action. Community strength helped the Roques find a pro bono lawyer, raise the visibility of their case as hundreds of community members came to court hearings, and gain an audience with the Philippine Consulate after months of being ignored. The Roques’ story can help other hate crime survivors navigate the court system and bring awareness to shortcomings in the judicial process. The family and their community’s determination, joy, and bravery will inspire audiences and provide a blueprint for other communities to stand against the tide of anti-Asian hate.

When Patrick “PJ” Roque found out his parents had been attacked, co-director John Zafra-Haas was one of the first people he called. John met PJ years earlier through organizing in the Filipino community in Los Angeles and mentored him in filmmaking. Co-directors John and Tiên both contributed to the grassroots campaign “Justice for the Roques,” documenting the campaign and teaching community organizers how to connect with journalists. They saw first-hand how challenging it was for everyday people to navigate complicated legal proceedings.

Over the years, our filmmaking team has built a relationship of mutual respect and trust with the Roques and have witnessed the family’s joy, frustration, compassion, and unrelenting efforts to change their situation and others. The film is a co-production with SIKLAB Media, a Filipino multimedia collective dedicated to uplifting stories within the Filipino community and whose lived experiences are invaluable to telling an authentic and resonant story. As both filmmakers and members of this community, our team is deeply committed to sharing this story with the world.

For nearly three years, co-directors John and Tiên have documented the Roques’ experience. We’ve donated our own time, money, and equipment to complete ~90% of the filming. We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of the entire Roque family, first of all, as well as countless community members, organizers, friends, and family. We want to especially thank our collaborators Siklab Media as well as our filmmaking team and dear friends Mic Zerda, Kady Le, Michael Flores, and Karen Roxas who have so generously offered their time and expertise. We’ve filmed more than 70 hours of incredible footage that we need to mold into the best 90-minute film that it can be, full of joy, tension, hope, drama, and humanity.

To take that next step into post-production, we need your help. In October of 2024, we raised $44,334 of our fundraising goal of $50,000. This amount will ensure that our team can dive into the editing process early next year to finish the film by the end of 2025. Once the film is complete, we'll submit our documentary to select film festivals and hold community screenings near and far.

If you are a major donor interested in making a tax-deductible contribution via our fiscal sponsor Visual Communications Media, please email us directly!

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!