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Say I Do (2005)

50 min   |   English / Taglog  |  Producer Erik Paulson  | 

Director Nova Arlene Ami

CTV / VISION TV

SAY I DO by Nova Ami (1)
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Dreams and harsh realities clash when young mail-order brides escaping the poverty of the Philippines find themselves isolated in the small towns and rural areas of British Columbia, dependent on the whims of their new Canadian husbands. Through intimate and astonishingly frank interviews with both husbands and wives, Nova Arlene Ami brings us fully into the complexities and underlying power relations of three couples, and exposes the very real dangers women risk in leaving their families and culture to marry strangers. The lush tropical landscapes of the Philippines and the rugged landscapes of rural B.C. act as insistent metaphors for the immense chasm between cultures. Say I Do is a powerful indictment of a growing mail-order bride industry that results from the economic consequences of globalization for developing countries and the proliferation of websites that ‘traffic in women.’

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