Behind the Camera: How Minea's Story Came to Life

Filmmakers Czarina Madayag and Liam Reed share what it took to honour a survivor's journey with dignity and care.

When Czarina first interned with Hagar during her university studies, she fell in love with the organisation's whole journey approach to supporting survivors. That passion led to an ambitious project: documenting Minea's story of trafficking, survival, and restoration.

Armed with a Sony A7II and kit lens, Czarina assembled a bare-bones production team with her partner Liam Reed and friend Kat Hayhoe. None of them had undertaken such a project before. Nothing could have prepared them for the heat, the bouts of sickness, or the emotional weight of what they were about to witness.

"It was only made possible with the support of the Hagar team in Cambodia who treated us like their own," Czarina recalls. "Up-close, Hagar's values of love and care are truly embodied in the individuals who bring the organisation's purpose to life."

Trauma-informed filmmaking

Minea's story involves profound trauma. Creating a film about such traumatic experiences required more than technical skill. It demanded a framework rooted in the same trauma-informed care that guides all of Hagar's work.

"We made it so that our number one priority as a team was to do no harm," Czarina explains. "We did so by working in close consultation with Minea and her case manager. Our interview questions were always pre-checked and briefed."

Before every filming session, the team would explain the purpose of the documentary to participants and assure them they could stop recording at any point if they felt uncomfortable. Questions were discussed openly, and the team remained flexible to cuts and alterations.

"Pain and hope is something that is so intricately woven into Cambodia's culture, so we mirrored that in everything we did," says Czarina. "Particularly in the context of modern slavery, an issue that is often associated with statistics and nameless faces, we wanted anyone watching to get to know Minea as a person and for a moment, to really be in her world and to relate to her in some fundamental way."

The power of healing

One moment during filming particularly struck Czarina. "Often, in the down time that we had with Minea when we were travelling between locations and when we had breaks, I would often forget that the person in front of me, this young, vibrant and smiley person had undergone such a horrific ordeal."

It was a testament to Hagar's work and a powerful reminder of what true restoration looks like.

"I think it reaffirmed to me that healing isn't this grandiose act, it's practical and simple, it's ongoing care and love."

Why this film matters

Czarina and Liam hope Australian audiences will understand that modern slavery is not an individual issue but a systemic one. "Without failure or betrayal on some higher level, be that by a government or multinational corporations, there's very little reason for these crimes to occur," Czarina notes.

The complexity of the issue requires nuanced understanding. Often those who perpetrate these crimes were themselves victims, let down by the systems they live under. Real change happens when we see our own freedom intricately connected to those who are not free.

"Hagar has story after story of individual people who have faced abuse, trauma and exploitation. It would make your skin crawl. And step by step, they have helped to rebuild their lives. This is the mindset we need to take on with world issues that feel insurmountable."

Having witnessed Hagar's work firsthand in Cambodia, the filmmakers have a clear message for anyone considering supporting the organisation: "It is very important to understand what effective survivor support really looks like. There are a lot of organisations asking for your support out there, so it's crucial to be able to have your own baseline understanding. Hagar has shown themselves to be incredibly competent at delivering this kind of support in an individual survivor-focused way."

What Czarina and Liam witnessed was Hagar's complete focus and dedication to improving the communities they work with. That dedication gave them confidence in recommending that people give Hagar their support.

And it all started with choosing to truly see Minea as a person, to honour her dignity, and to tell her story with the same care and love that helped her heal.