Meet Bessie Badilla the First Filipina Carnival Queen in Brazil
DANCE OF MY LIFE is a video documentary that bears witness to Bessie Badilla's poignant story, from her humble childhood in the Philippines, to a celebrated stint as a model for the House of Balenciaga in Paris, and her personal battles as a wife and mother in suburban Connecticut.
Just when life seems to come crashing down on her, Bessie is invited to star in the Carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil - an unprecedented feat for a non-Brazilian made more significant by the fact that she is a woman "of a certain age." DANCE OF MY LIFE features never-before-seen Carnival footage as three Samba schools allow the crew backstage access to their closely-guarded preparations and introduce Bessie to the meaning of Carnival.
DANCE OF MY LIFE is simultaneously funny and poignant, a mesmerizing conflation of Carnival's intoxicating life-force, and a woman's determined journey to own herself.
DANCE OF MY LIFE was written and Directed by Lydia Benitez-Brown who produced the much-loved children's TV series "Batibot" in the Philippines, was a consultant for the International Telecommunications Union in Zanzibar and later helped set up ITV/Radio One, Tanzania's first commercial TV station.
DANCE OF MY LIFE premiered at the New York Hell's Kitchen Film Festival in September 2011 where it was a surprise box office hit and the Festival's top grossing film. It opened the 8th Annual Chicago Filipino American Film Festival in November 2011.
