For the first time in the FreedomFilmFest’s history of 8 years it has made a stop in Perak. Due to strong support and popular demands, we decided to stage the premier screenings of the 2 winning films Huruh J and Lot Umah Am and “Senyap.. Tersentak”, the latest KOMAS production on BERSIH 2.0 demands.

Former Perak MB YB Nizar

Local hosts Otai Manjung secured the Lead View Hotel in Sri Manjung and had invited about 100 guests including YB Nizar Jamaluddin (former Perak MB) was amongst the VIP’s who came to support and watch the films and participate in the dicsussions.

Left:Volunteers; Right: Orang asal community organiser Abri

The next day, we screened 4 films in Ipoh city hosted by local organisers and arts-based cooperative “Projek Rabak”. About 40 people attended this screening and a good discussion ensued after the screening of the film “Lot Umah, Am” about the plight of the orang asli settlement in Kg Selatar in Johor. The discussion was facilitated with the help from resource person Abri Chupil, an orang asli leader and organiser from SPNS, a community based organiation based in Bidor, Perak. He shared about the issues and struggles of the the orang asli community and their fight to defend their ancestral lands and cultural identity.

Left: Part of the audiences during the Ipoh screening; Right: An audience sharing his thoughts during the Q&A session

FFF has broken new ground in Perak and we will continue to spread this effort to advocate for human rights through the film medium in the state of Perak.

The Freedom Film Festival 2011 made its 2nd stop at Butterworth, Penang.

Left: YB Ong Chin Wen, ADUN Bukit Tengah our local partner from Penang State government in Bukit Mertajam; Right: Member from the audience sharing during the discussion

The 2 winning films for 2011, “Huruf J” and “Lot Umah Am” were screened together with “Senyap Tersentak” at Summit Hotel in Bukit Mertajam to about 40 people who came from as far as Kulim. The Bukit Mertajam screening was hosted by ADUN of Bukit Tengah, YB Ong Chin Wen. The FFF 2011 in Penang is co-organised with the Penang State Government.

Left: Audiences at one of the screening sessions; Right: The launch of the Green Voter movement in Georgetown.

The next day, the Festival travelled to Dewan Sri Pinang in Georgetown, a central and strategic location on the island state. It was overwhelming to see so many young people who volunteered to help organise the event.

About 500 members of the public watched an array of ten films on different human rights themes in the 1 day screening event. The “Green Voters” movement was also launched in Penang after the screening of the film “Countdown to a Toxic Future” and there were also strong expressions of support for the “Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas” campaign in Kuantan Pahang.

Left: Volunteers and representatives from SUARAM Penang & KOMAS after the end of the screenings; Right: Coordinator for SUARAM Penang, Ong Jing Cheng

The two winners of The FFF2011 film competition, Afiq Deen (for Huruj J) and Liaw Pei Wen (Lot Umah Am) were also there to present their films and interact directly with the audiences after their films were screened.

All pictures taken by Ong Song Quan.

Representatives from KOMAS, the Selangor state government, European Union with the panel of judges & winners at the FFF2011 premier. Photo by Lee Chun Chung.

KOMAS has once again scored another hit in its 9 year track record of organising the FREEDOM FILM FESTIVAL! The annual human rights film festival which featured 20 international and local short social documentaries and films had attracted Malaysian and even some foreign film activists, human rights advocates and ordinary members of the Malaysian public to its 2 day festival.

The excellent acoustic and concert hall conditions of the venue Wisma Bentley provided a comfortable and conducive environment for the audience to watch the films and participate in the discussions held after each segment of the film screenings. This important platform for open discussions, debates was an important feature of the festival because it main intention was to increase the understanding and promotion of human rights issues through the use of the film medium. The human rights topics ranged from political reforms, to sexuality issues were discussed after each screening session.

The FFF was started in 2003 with a 200 audience participation over 2 screening days. Since then the figure has grown almost seven fold, the latest FFF 2011 held last weekend achieving a record high of 1,400 audience attending the event.

This year the FFF is partnering with the European Union (EU) for the 2nd year running. Human rights NGO SUARAM is also a partner in the festival along with DURIAN FM.COM as the online radio station to cover the event.

Besides this, the FFF has also engaged the Selangor State government and also the Penang State government for the 2nd year as co-sponsors of the festival premier screenings in both these states. This endorsement of both state governments and also their valuable support to wide spread the films to different constituencies will give opportunities for communities of people to view these short documentary films and discuss current human right issues in Malaysian social reality.

The event premiered the 2 winning films of the film festival competition, “Huruf J” by Afiq Deen and “Lot, Umah, Am” by Liaw Pey Wen. Both films were given the Justin Louis award together with RM6,000 each to make their film proposals into films.

The Justin Louis award presented each year to the winning films was established in honor of the first coordinator of KOMAS who died in a boat accident while video documenting and as part of a fact finding mission to investigate abuses on the Penan indigenous peoples in Sarawak.

Left: Winner Liaw Pey Wen receiving her Justin Louis Award from Adrienn Salai; Third Secretary of Political affair of the European Union; Right: Afiq Deen receiving his award from YB Rodziah, Exco for the Selangor state government

This year the overall grand award winner was the film “Huruf J” for its personal and powerful portrayal of the systemic oppression faced by divorcees and single mothers and their children. Equally good was “Lot Umah Am” (The sea is my home) a timely documentation about the plight of the Orang Selatar, an Indigenous fishing community that are overwhelmed by development and facing neglect by the local authorities.

Left: Bersih 2.0 & SUARAM at FreedomFilmFest; Right: FFF2011 Judges looks on. Photos by Lee Chun Chung.

KOMAS also premiered their latest film, “Senyap.. Tersentak”, on the 8 Demands of BERSIH 2.0 movement for free and fair elections. Present to address the audience was the chairperson of the movement, Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan who also gave her thumbs up for the video which will be used for road shows, public education and public screenings.

Left: Director of Jalan Pintas, Namron (right) with Faisal Mustaffa; Right: Yati Kaprawi, director of Aku Siapa? sharing her insights during Tikar Talk while fesitval director Anna Har looks on

“TIKAR TALK” was another insightful session where human right activists, social film makers and members of the public were able to discuss the impact of using the film medium to affect political change and social transformation. Short presentations were made by independent and social film makers from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

There were also presentations by Alexandra Crosby from ENGAGE MEDIA, a regional online video sharing netwwork and Ms. Hana Hulhankova, the director of ONE WORLD Human Rights Film Festival based in Prague, currently the largest international human rights festival in the world.

The representatives from Thailand consisted of 3 independent Thai film makers, 2 representatives from RANGKID, an NGO that organises a short film competition on democracy and also 2 representative from the Thai Public Broadcasting Station which airs these films on their channel. They were accompanied by staff members of their partner organisation, the Frederich Neumann Stiftung (FNS). They shared 3 delightful and powerful short films and provided insights on how they had used films to promote political and voter awareness in schools, among local government officials and reaching out to the general public in Thailand.

Over the 2 day, it was evident that the tactical and strategic usage of this powerful medium can create a powerful impact. This is evident in the sharing of real experiences and case studies presented by members of the audience and also the invited resource persons which consisted on political activists, members of Parliament, State assemblymen, Local City Councilors, and members of the academia. Nevertheless, it is important for individuals and groups of people to be involved and engaged in action in order to create change in their respective societies.

Note: The FFF will be screening in Penang, Perak, Johor, Singapore and Sarawak respectively throughout the month of October.

FreedomFilmFest2011 will be traveling to more than 10 locations across Malaysia including one in Singapore. FFF2011 begins 1-2 October in Petaling Jaya and then to other locations every weekend till the end of October. The screening programme will vary from location to location.

PETALING JAYA
1 & 2 OCTOBER 11AM-11PM
Wisma Bentley Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara
(Above Courts Mammoth, next to IKEA, opposite Tesco)
Venue and transport details.

PULAU PINANG
8 OCTOBER 8PM-11PM
Summit Hotel, Seberang Perai (Google Map)

9 OCTOBER 11AM-11PM
Dewan Sri Pinang, Georgetown (Google Map)

PERAK
15 OCTOBER 8PM-11PM
Seri Manjung

16 OCTOBER 8PM-11PM
Menora, Ipoh (Google Map)

JOHOR
22 OCTOBER 8PM-11PM
Tropical Inn Hotel, Jalan Gereja, Johor Bahru (Google Map)
23 OCTOBER 8PM-11PM
Muar

SINGAPORE
28 OCTOBER 7.30PM-11.30PM
Substation, Armenian Street (Google Map)

SARAWAK
29 OCTOBER 1PM-7PM
Harbour View Hotel, Kuching (Google Map)

30 OCTOBER 1PM-7PM
Miri

For full schedule of films and synopses click here.

Entry is free and is by invitation only. Please register to get your invite.

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