Last October, the 6th FreedomFilmFest 2009 toured the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Baru, Kuching and London showcasing documentaries about human rights, social and environmental justice. Real Change? is the question posed by the festival organisers, querying the changes that have come our way since the Tsunami elections of 2008. This June, KOMAS and Palate Palette proudly present a special screening of all 3 winning documentaries from this festival: “Al-Fatehah Memali” by Rahmat Haron, “No Silver Lining: The Perak Crisis” by The S-ploited, and “Kayuh” by Soh Sook Hwa.

KOMAS FreedomFilmFest is an annual film showcase of outstanding alternative films and documentaries focusing on social issues that affect ordinary people i.e. HIV/AIDS, human rights, poverty and the environment. Due to a lack of commercial backing and because of the tyranny of popular mainstream media, many of these films are usually out of the reach to most Malaysians so FFF is a vital event, providing a venue for the Malaysian public to use videos as a tool for social documentation and filmmaking.

For more information this year’s Freedom Film Fest 2010, please visit: http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org/

Come join us! Screenings are free! And so is our popcorn!
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Freedom Film Festival 2009 Winners

9pm, Tuesday, 15 June 2010

upstairs lounge @ Palate Palette

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: Approx. 80 MINS

KAYUH
by Soh Sook Hwa

2009 | 30mins | Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles

This film is a first-hand account of a 100-strong contingent of cyclists in the JERIT cycling campaign who rode into Kuala Lumpur from Alor Setar in the north and Johor Baru in the south. Its purpose – to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister to highlight 6 major concerns of marginalized groups in Malaysia. With an intention to make stops at villages and towns along the way to raise awareness among the public, the cyclists were repeatedly hindered by the authorities from furthering their message.The bike ride was inspired by the Asahan march of 1967 where workers walked from the rubber plantations of Malacca to Kuala Lumpur.

NO SILVER LINING: THE PERAK
by The S-ploited

2009 | 20mins | Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles

What happens when “frogs” jump over to the other side? In Perak, when three elected representatives of the Pakatan Rakyat “hopped” over to Barisan Nasional, it started a political wrestling match for power between the two opposing political alliance. “No Silver Lining” seeks to make sense of the issue, and the aspirations of the people of Perak.

AL-FATEHAH MEMALI
by Rahmat Haron

2009 | 30mins | Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles

“Al-Fatehah Memali” portrays the journey of singer-songwriters Black and Meor as they try to comprehend the massacre that happened in 1985 in Kg Memali, Kedah. Their journey takes them to the village where they meet survivors and witnesses of the tragedy to uncover a forgotten story of injustice for most of Malaysia, but one forever etched in the hearts of those in Memali.