Brief summary:
Date: 16-22 July
Place: Seoul, Korea
Application Deadline - NOW!
What: Seoul International Youth Film Festival (SIYFF). During the seven days of the Festival the participants should present during all screenings of the films and participate in all the activities in the programme organised for them. Watching films, making films, having lectures about films, meeting famous directors, and making international friends are the main activities they will join.
This is a fantastic opportunity for Malaysia to be part of and contribute to a very prestigious international film event.
Please forward this to any of your contacts who you think may benefit and would want to participate in such an event. Please email me your applications or call KOMAS for more info. Let’s do this people!
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YB Saari Sungib and family
Finally it’s official! The three winners of the KOMAS FreedomFilmFest (FFF) 2008 human rights film proposal making competition were announced tonight! The declaration was made together with the launching of KOMAS-produced human rights video ‘Mari Kita Beraktivism’, a series of short films featuring ordinary Malaysians and their experiences with human rights’.
They are:
• Abror Rivai for his proposal on “free and fair elections entitled “Pilihanraya Umum 12, Demokrasi atau Rebutan Kerusi”.
• Justin Johari for his proposal on “the state of music/art as a form of freedom of expression” - also titled “project x”.
• Poh Si Teng for her proposal on “sexual conformity” in Malaysia
The panel of judges consisted of Edmund Bon, a prominent human rights lawyer; Dina Zaman, a renowned writer; Benjamin Mckay, a film lecturer at Monash University, and Brenda Danker, producer and director of production house, Big Pictures.
“These three film proposals were chosen firstly because they represent an investigation into democratic space, which may now be more accessible since the March 8th elections and secondly, they perhaps represent a positive change in the way Malaysia is coming to deal with its human rights issues,” said Benjamin Mckay spokesperson for the FFF2008 judges.
Winners’ Profiles
Abror Rivai, 32, graduated from UiTM in Performing Arts, 2002. He is a contributor for cultural political magazine, Siasah, writing independent film reviews independent movie. He also directed Tanjong Kelang, a short film which was selected for the International Film Festival in Thailand and received critical acclaim from Cinemasia Film Festival in Amsterdam in 2005. He is deeply involved in activism and was part of the 2005 Asian Network for Free Election’s mission in Afghanistan as an international elections observer. He is currently an in-house writer and director for a new local production house.
Justin Johari, 28, is the manager of the aspiring Rap/Hip Hop group D&A. He has a Masters in Transnational Crime Prevention from the University of Wollongong, Australia and has experience in emcee work and theatre. He is also volunteer for the KL Bar Legal Aid.
Poh Si Teng, 23, is a born and bred Penangite but is currently working in the USA. A graduate of San Francisco State University, Poh Si’s interests in human rights and issues affecting society particularly identity and immigration, have led her to work with high profile media companies like the Associated Press in Miami and the New Straits Times in KL. Among her many talents as a writer and video journalist, Poh Si is also the Director and Founder of the Malaysian political and pop culture online magazine, the Cicak.
How does one transform from being merely aware of human rights into someone who internalises the concept? This documentary looks for the answer by following the stories of three different profiles whose lives were transformed by their own experience of human rights violations.
“Mari Kita Beraktivism” is a series of short films that tell the stories of ordinary folk whose lives have been transformed by their experiences with human rights.
In “Best la Punk”, Kechik and Ebrahim, two seemingly ordinary urban youths, share how their interest in punk music initiated them into a different perspective of life and society.
“Binatang pun perlu tanah” follows the process of how Sinui Pai Nanek Sengik(SPNS), an Orang Asli community organisation transformed from being passive victims to actively fighting for their survival.
”No damn right” features the moving story of two time ISA detainee, Saari Sungip and his wife, Aliza as they share their bitter sweet experience of fighting for justice as a family.
Director and producer, Anna Har and Brenda Danker of Big Pictures Production will, as well as the main profiles in the video, be present for discussion after the screening.
We are still playing with the site but if you have any suggestions or comments please speak up. Also if you have any content you’d like to publish that is relevant i.e. pictures from past FFFs, opinion pieces, letters or maybe just a shout out, you can send it to us or use the new ‘comments’ function cos we wanna make this a two way thing. Dialogue people, let’s have one!
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