A woman of many roles

Career switch

Near the end of her time at Disneyland, Consunji had begun considering alternative careers. At Repertory Philippines, she had taught summer drama workshops to children and found that she enjoyed working and connecting with them. She realized the skills that she learned in the theater, such as speech and communication, could be useful in a teaching career, and so decided to retrain as an educator. In 2015, Consunji and her husband started Baumhaus, a learning space for small children that comes with an open-ended playroom and classes. The approach is arts-based and child-centered.

The news about the casting call for the film Still Human, a drama that explores the relationship between a wheelchair-using man and the domestic worker taking care of him, came to her through friends. Initially unsure if she wanted to perform again, Consunji decided to go for it after meeting director Oliver Chan Siu-kuen and being convinced about the integrity of her work.

"When I was studying in the Philippines, migration was a big part of what we discussed. When the chance came up to tell the story of these women that I admire, I decided to do it, but not necessarily because I wanted to get into the film industry. It was a lot to handle at the time, but I felt very compelled to do the project as I wanted to be part of something that was going to give its subject a credible voice," she says.

The film would go on to gross over HK$19 million ($2.45 million) at the Hong Kong box office and was screened at numerous international film festivals. Consunji won the Best New Performer award at the 2019 Hong Kong Film Awards.