Nurse Unseen

Nurse Unseen explores the little-known history and humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses risking their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate in the streets. The Philippines is the leading exporter of professional nurses in the world. In the United States, almost one third of all immigrant nurses are Filipino. Since 1965, over Filipino nurses have immigrated to the U.S. Yet, there has been little to no representation of Filipino nurses in U.S. mainstream media. Furthermore, research has shown how Filipino nurses died at a disproportionate rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Filipino nurses make up 4% of the registered nursing population, but at the height of the pandemic, accounted for 31.5% of the nation's COVID nurse deaths. On film, no one has yet told the deeper and complicated history of Filipino nursing and U.S. colonialism and its direct ties to what we are experiencing now in the age of the pandemic and the frightening resurgence of anti-Asian hatred and violence. Nurse Unseen explores why so many Filipino nurses left the Philippines to work in the U.S. healthcare system and why they have been so disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The Director: Nurse Unseen is the latest documentary by Emmy Award-winning director Michele Josue. Her debut Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine is the winner of 10 Best Documentary and Audience Awards from festivals worldwide and a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award. Michele is also the Creator and Director of Happy Jail, the Netflix Original documentary series which won the 2021 Silver Telly Award for Series Documentary for Television. For more info: The Cast: Nurse Unseen features powerful stories from nurses across many lines of the pandemic. The film also features Filipino American historians, academics, journalists, hospital administrators, psychologists, and researchers who share their insights and knowledge.