FREEDOM FILMFEST 2004

Get your dose of socially-conscious cinema in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, May 14 to 15. Community media arts trainers Pusat Komas will be putting on display 20 original made-in-Malaysia films and documentaries that will engage you, provoke you, make you laugh, cry, and feel inspired.

Adapted to the themes of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, these films are in fact submissions to the inaugural Freedom Film Competition 2004. On May 16, winners in all three categories - student, amateur and professional - will be celebrated at an awards ceremony, and will find themselves bestowed the Justin Louis Award and a RM2,000 cash prize.

The trophy award is named after social activist Justin Louis, Pusat Komas' first coordinator who drowned in 1994 while on a mission trip to investigate the allegedsexual abuse suffered by local Penan women living along the upper Rejang in Sarawak. He was only 32. Justin Louis believed in the power of moving images in bringing about
dialogue, social awareness and meaningful change. This festival is lovingly dedicated in his memory.

All screenings are FREE, entry will be on a first-come-first-serve basis, and will be held at the HELP Institute Auditorium, located at BZ-2, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Off Jalan Semantan, 50420 Kuala Lumpur.

Scroll down for the full screening schedule, or visit our website at http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org for more information and directions to HELP Institute.

Screening Schedule

Friday, 14 May

7.00 pm to 8.05 pm

Classrooms(6 mins)
Professional Category, By Ho Yuhang

A look at the building known as S-21 situated right in the heart of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and its significance during the rule of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Sex education in Malaysia: Are we doing enough? (35 mins)
Amateur Category, By Lydia Lubon and Ahmad Yazid

Through a series of interviews with students, teachers and directors of local NGOs, we discover the truth behind why sex education is lagging in Malaysia.

Firefly in the darkness (5 mins)
Student Category, By Tan Siang Chen

Penang capital Georgetown has been undergoing a series of development projects which has left some communities in destitute conditions. They are ignored by most, but some
individuals do try to provide a helping hand.

Discussion

Break

8.20 pm to 10.00 pm

Bukak api(80 mins) Special Feature, By Osman Ali and Julian Jayaseela

A community effort film about a small group of transsexual sex-workers under the care of Kak Su, a semi-retired mamasan who runs a tailor workshop in Chow Kit.

Saturday, 15 May

12 noon to 1.15 pm

mlm (6 mins) Student Category, By Lee Chien

A look at hands and social issues.

Speak up (12 mins)
Student Category, By Shasha

Exploring the views of students on school regulations.

At the first glance (31 mins)
Amateur Category, By Azram Norhakim

With the tagline, "Food is a right, not a privilege", this group of concerned urban youths of different ethnic and religious backgrounds brave the streets of KL every Sunday without fail.

The paper (5 mins)
Student Category, By William Kok

A story about a little girl who lost her leg.

Discussion

Break

1.30 pm to 2.50 pm

Dancing kites (10 mins)
Professional Category, By Azharr Ruddin

A search for a long-lost Indonesian grandmother.

A displaced lot (15 mins)
Student Category, By Lachperabu s/o Santhinathan

A spotlight on an Indian squatter settlement in Petaling Jaya

A place called home (25 mins)
Student Category, By Jimmy Choong Meng Wah

Outcast by society and national welfare, a small group of HIV/AIDS patients have gathered in a community centre to share the final stages of their lives.

Love hurts (12 mins)
Amateur Category, By Nirmala Shan

Exploring love, fantasy and painful reality

Discussion

Break

3.00 pm to 4.15 pm
Sheltering the wrong ones (17 mins)
Amateur Category, Ong Boon Keong

An exposé of housing misallocation in Penang through investigative research.

The rebel dancer (43 mins)
Professional Category, Kumar Thangaiah

A film on Ramli Ibrahim, the primero uno dancer in the Malaysian dance scene.

Discussion

Break

4.30 pm to 6.00 pm

Success(9 mins)
Amateur Category, Sathesan

A documentary about how 2 young uneducated women leaders shaped and developed an organization.

Moris rasik (17 mins)
Professional Category, Haanim Bamadhaj

A documentary of a micro-credit programme in the war-torn Southeast Asian country of East Timor.

The black, white and grey (14 mins)
Professional Category, by Zan Azlee

Issues of labour policies, police corruption, politics and sexual preferences bubble to the surface during a short bus trip in Kuala Lumpur

The road not taken (5 mins)
Student Category, by Pauline Tay

Three young women share their sexuality and beliefs.

Let's campaign (30 mins). In Mandarin.
Amateur Category, By Low Tuck Chan

A story about a school which was forcibly closed, and the spirited struggle of the local community to defend their cultural rights.

Discussion

Break

6.15 pm to 7.20 pm

Kangkung (8 mins) Student Category, By Angie Choo

A story about a little girl searching for the right tune to her new song, 'Lenggang Kangkung'.

1979 (12 mins)
Professional Category

Set across 3 hours in one afternoon, Lum Wai Sum deals with the recent death of his father, sister and his gay lover.

Blacked out (3 mins)
Student Category, By Alvin Seah

The artist is a very expressive young lad. He loves to "paint" on his "canvas" all night long but not everybody is very happy with what he has done.

2020 (7 mins)
Amateur Category, By Sam Hui

A short documentary exploring the visions of ordinary young people in light of Vision 2020.

Raaga mood (16 mins) Student Category, By Sylvia Ong

A widow expressed her desire to see her daughter succeed as a great bharathanatyam dancer.

Discussion

Break

8.00 pm to 10.00 pm

The Big durian (75 mins)
Professional Category, By Amir Muhammad and James Lee

A fiction/documentary hybrid in which 23 Malaysians talk about the chain of events triggered by a single soldier's actions on 18 October, 1987 in Chow Kit, a district in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.