The Komas Freedom Film Fest, (FFF) is finally here! This annual human rights film festival will be screening 20 local and international films focusing on themes such as the rights of a child; politics of identity; environment and activism; women and religion; election and democracy; sexuality rights; popular resistance; and inter-religious relations, starting tomorrow (1-2 October) at Wisma Bentley Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Not only will members of the public be able to watch these very rare films, but they will also get to discuss and exchange views on the themes and subjects depicted in the films as discussions will be held after each film screening.
Many of these films we will be screening have won awards and have been featured at different international film festivals around the world. These include “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan”, a great piece of investigative reporting on organised sex trade of boys in Afghanistan and “Into Thin Air” a film which examines a particular incident during the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran where thousands of protesters came out onto the street not knowing that a curfew had been imposed.
Another notable award winning film, “The Imam and the Pastor” brings to life the astonishing reconciliation between Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, who then ended the ethnic- religious conflict and become instigators of peace in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria.
We will also be featuring several Malaysian documentaries depicting current issues in our country. “Aku Siapa?” by Yati Kaprawi invites a deeper discussion on the reasons why Muslim women in Malaysia wear the hijab and “Countdown to a Toxic Future” by Jonathan Wong and Raymond Lim which gives us an insight to the concerns of the community in Kuantan affected by the building of a rare earth processing plant in their vicinity.
In line with FFF’s objective to support young activist and social filmmakers, we will also be featuring several first time filmmakers namely lawyer Joachim Leong with his film “Ulu Bengoh Under Water” and college lecturer Andrew Ng and Evelyne Teh who directed “In Search of a Malaysian Identity”.
One of the main highlights of the festival will be the premiere screening of the winning films of the FreedomFilmFest 2011 film proposal competition. Film maker Afiq Deen will premier “Huruf J”, a film about the challenges faced by divorcees in Malaysia. Liaw Pey Wen, a print journalist will present her first film entitled, “Lot, Umah Am” about the struggles of the Indigenous Orang Seletar fishermen living along the Straits of Johor. One of them will also be receiving the “Most Outstanding Film award of the FFF2011 at the Awards Ceremony in Petaling Jaya on October 1st 2011.
This year, our FFF film screenings will be graced by filmmakers and producers from Thiland who will be screening three award winning short films in our event. We will also be welcoming Miss Hana Kulhankova, Director of the prestigious human rights film festival “One World Festival” in Europe who will select the winner of the “Most Outstanding Human Rights Award”. They will join other regional and local filmmakers & activists in a special event “Tikar Talk” where human rights filmmakers will convene to exchange ideas and views on the theme of “Films and Political Change”.
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Jimmy Tan
