Making reel change
FreedomFilmFest returns to highlight more pressing issues.
HUMAN rights documentary film festival FreedomFilmFest (FFF) returns this year to highlight more pressing issues faced by communities locally and internationally.
The week-long festival, from Sept 29 to Oct 6, will showcase over 40 new and award-winning films at PJ Live Arts in Petaling Jaya.
This year’s theme, Mend The Gap, aims to facilitate conversations between people from different groups in order to close the gaps between them.
Issues like the education of stateless children in Sabah (Aku Mau Sekolah by Putri Purnama Sagua), maternal healthcare in rural Sarawak (The Story Of Kam Agong by Lawrence Jayaraj) and the rights of the differently-abled to an independent and dignified life (In The Dark by Low Watan) are addressed during the festival’s opening night.
Other Malaysian documentaries such as Poca Boy by Sevan Doraisamy and Menunggu Masa by female filmmaking duo, the S-Ploited, call for a review on laws that violate human rights.
In collaboration with the Federation Of Reproductive Health Malaysia, documentary Ask The Sexpert by Vaishali Sinha and short film Kantoi by Adam Zainal hope to generate discussions on the importance of sex education.
Human rights issues that crop up in the digital age will also be raised with the screening of popular international documentaries The Cleaners by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewick and Black Code by Nicholas de Pencier.
Both documentaries identify key challenges relating to safety, security and censorship in the digital world.
Each screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmaker(s) or a main protagonist from the documentary. Local experts will also be invited to lend their views on the respective issues.
International filmmakers such as Joakim Demmer, the director of Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas (which will also be screened at the festival), will conduct masterclasses and share their perspectives on filmmaking.
Experience a whole new way of movie watching at the festival with the introduction of virtual reality headsets and bicycle-powered cinema in collaboration with Biji-Biji Initiative.
After the week-long festival in Petaling Jaya, FreedomFilmFest will travel to George Town, Muar, Johor Baru, Manjung, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore between October and December 2018.
Go to freedomfilm.my for more information.