Festival Edition 2018

Mend The Gap

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The 16th edition of the FreedomFilmFest’s theme, Mend the Gap is inspired by United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – that “No one is left behind” – focusing on the urgent need to reduce inequality and increase dialogue and mutual understanding between different groups or communities.

Here are some of our highlights:

Promoting sustainability through a bicycle powered cinema

Festival goers get to find out how much energy is needed to screen one movie by stepping onto one of the specially engineered bikes from Biji-Biji Initiative, highlighting films that promotes sustainable environment.

Dialogue on activism with youth with SUARAM’s School of Activism

The festival opened with screening of Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower (HK) and post screening discussion with Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow. A forum focused to share on how student activist from Hong Kong (Agnes Chow) and Malaysia (Izzah Dejavu) to inspire people to take action and organise a series of major demonstrations to advocate student’s rights was held on the same day. University screenings of the film were also held together with Agnes Chow.

Sex education session with secondary school students

Secondary school students from 26 schools in Klang Valley came to the festival to attend the screening of Kantoi and the discussion titled “Teenage Pregnancy? What’s Next?” organsied together with Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM). The forum discussed about the dilemmas of unplanned teenage pregnancies.

Participatory Storytelling workshop with the Orang Asli young women.

This is a unique 5-day participatory storytelling workshop for Orang Asli young women storytellers. Using theatre as a strategy for community empowerment, participants will share their lived experiences of discrimination, gender, poverty and education through creative expressions. At the end of the workshop, the participants shared their stories through a multi-art showcase at the festival.

News Coverage

  1. Human rights are universal and the need to document violations are important no matter who is in power and holding truth to that power is something that filmmakers in Malaysia will continue to do. (The Star, 16 September 2018)
  2. My Story My Voice (BFM, 24 September 2018)
  3. We may not be able to say it is fulfilling but being able to have his story presented and what it meant to his family and friends to help him in any possible way is something we feel strongly about. (Sindie on Menunggu Masa, 2018)

Films Screened at this edition

  1. Ask the Sexpert by Vaiashali Sinha (IN)
  2. A Cambodian Spring by Chris Kelly (KH)
  3. Between Boxes by Dominique Teoh (MY)
  4. Big Bad Bangsar by Benjamin Yee (MY)
  5. Black Code by Nicholas de Pencier (CA)
  6. Borrowed Time by Joyce Soo Wai-Xin (MY)
  7. Chitty: Retracing the Forgotten by Junaid Ibrahim (MY)
  8. Countdown by Andrea Flavia William (SG)
  9. Counterfeit Kunkoo by Reema Sengupta (IN)
  10. Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas by Joakim Demmer (ET)
  11. Firefly by Lau Kek Huat (MY)
  12. Five Tigers by Poh Hor Heong & Victor Chin (MY)
  13. Health Undocumented (Salud Sin Papeles) by Juan Freitez (US)
  14. I am Parmalim (Ahu Parmalin) by Cicilia Maharani Tunggadewi (ID)
  15. Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower by Joe Piscatella (HK)
  16. Kantoi by Adam Zainal (MY)
  17. Naila and the Uprising by Julia Bacha (PS)
  18. Retouch by Kaveh Mazaheri (IR)
  19. Rising From Silence by Shalahuddin Siregar (ID)
  20. SHE (Thone Yaung Sin) by Kyal Yi Lin Six (MM)
  21. Small Talk (日常對話) by Huang Hui-Chen (TW)
  22. Story Between Two Riverbeds by Nur Kursiah binti Matali (MY)
  23. The Cleaners by Hans Block & Moritz Riesewieck (DE)
  24. The Cycle by Benjamin Zhang & Dewi Tan (SG)
  25. The Enforced Disappearance of Sombath Somphone by Ran Quinn (LA)
  26. The Judge by Erika Cohn (PS)
  27. The Nameless Boy by Diego Batara Mahameru (IN)
  28. The Panguna Syndrome by Alexandre Berman & Olivier Pollet (PG)
  29. Uncelebrated (湮没无闻) by Chin Phui Ann (MY)
  30. Uncle Tommy by Tan Shi Ying (SG)
  31. Vani: A Flower in the Void by Eunice Alexander (MY)
  32. Women at Home by Megan Wonowidjoto (SG)
  33. Yield by Toshihiko Uriu & Victor Delotavo Tagaro (PH)

In the Blog

Related Wayang

The 2018 Award Winners

Best Feature Documentary

The Cleaners by Hands Block & Moritz Riesewieck (Germany/Philippines)

Best Short Film

Retouch by Kaveh Mazaheri (Iran)

Best Short Documentary

Rising From Silence by Shalahuddin Siregar (Indonesia)

Best Student Film

Vani: A Flower in the Void by Eunice Alexander

Most Outstanding Human Rights Film (Malaysian film grant awardees)