Kuala Lumpur – After 3 weeks of intense deliberations, the judges of the FreedomFilmFestival 2007 (FFF07) have finally selected the 3 winning proposals. These were picked based on the depth and clarity of human rights perspective in the treatment of subject and storyline, relevance of the story to this year’s theme, and technical proficiency to create a final product that would appeal to the masses as well as promote public education especially a good script, direction and production plan, and adequate effort used for production.

Pusat KOMAS, who are the FFF07 organisers, had decided on the theme; 50th Merdeka: The Untold Human Rights Stories. This is to explore the state of human rights in Malaysia after 50 years of independence.

The winning proposals are as follows (in no particular order):

1. “She’s My Son” by Indrani Kopal, a documentary that will give us a first-hand view into the life of a transgendered Malaysian

2. “Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka” by Fahmi Reza, a documentary about the hidden history behind the democratic constitutional struggle and political independence of the multi-racial population of Malaya against British colonialism during 1945-1948

3. “The Weld Quay George Town Jetty Squatters”, a documentary by Ong Boon Keong, about the right to land by more than 2000 people who are labeled as squatters. But this community in Weld Quay George Town, Penang, have lived on houses built on jetties since the mid-1800s.

The next stage of FFF07 will be to produce the films in the period of 3 months. All three completed documentaries will be screened during the FreedomFilmFest screenings which will be held in conjunction with the week long 50th Merdeka Celebrations at Central Market Annexe from September 14 to 16 2007.

The four FFF07 judges comprised of Anna Har, KOMAS board member and also creative director of Big Pictures, an independent film company; Tan Jo Hann, director of KOMAS and experienced human rights advocate in Malaysia, Gayathry Venkiteswaran, director of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ); and Bernard Chauly, a renowned independent filmmaker who directed Gol & Gincu (2005) and Goodbye Boys (2006).

“The judges were quite impressed at how Indra approached the common issue of transgender by looking at it as a fundamental human right,” said Gayathry on Indra’s winning proposal.

“There has been numerous documentaries made on the penang jetties but always from a cultural perspective. It will be interesting to finally have one that takes into account of the housing rights of this group of people whose families have been living there for generations pre-dating our independence,” said Anna on why the judges selected Ong’s proposal.

“He’s looking at a point in Malayan history which is rarely portrayed; it’s the history of the political left movement and their contribution to gaining Malaysia’s independence. The judges would like to see him rise to the challenge of making the treatment interesting and engaging on what is a very interview and facts orientated documentary,” said Bernard on Fahmi’s winning proposal.

“At the end of the day, these stories have to represent a cross section of the Malaysian society and how their human rights are expressed in the films, it is not so much about films but about what they say to the ordinary person in Malaysia” said Jo Hann.

FFF is a platform for social filmmakers and video activists to share human rights stories and experiences through the film medium. It has created opportunities for local filmmakers to reflect about using their craft in film making to express their social beliefs.

FreedomFilmFest is organized by Pusat KOMAS, an NGO that advocates and supports human rights issues especially on the community level through creative media with the use of community video and other media tools. KOMAS conducts training workshops on media skills, community organizing and facilitation skills in Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.