Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2009. In a recruitment Centre, women undergo training to become maids. They learn how to use a microwave, how to be polite, their future employer’s language and stamina at work. Tens of thousands of them leave each month for Asia or the Middle East in the hope of bringing a better salary back home. But hope sometimes turns into a nightmare: overworked and mistreated, they are reduced to a state of slavery. Their stories lie behind the domestic function for which they were trained, revealed in looks, words, laughter and shocking silence.
Jorge León
Born 1967. He graduated at the Brussels Institut Natonal Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) and has been working as a photographer and film director. He was also active a dramatist and stage designer for various projects. As a photographer, he worked for Belgian and foreign artists and companies, among who Olga de Soto, Wim Vandekeybus and Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods. Léon’s photos have been exhibited at various locations across Belgium and abroad and were published in newspapers such as The Times and Libération. At the 1999 Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Léon created his installation Unfinished Stories. More recently he has been active primarily as a filmmaker, with a series of films including De Sable et de Ciment (2003), Vous êtes Ici (2006), Between Two Chairs (2007) and 10min. (2009).
