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The Freedom Film Fellowship is an exciting programme that spans over 10-months and aims to equip 13 fellows with the skills and knowledge necessary to produce impactful and ethical social justice documentaries.
The fellows will participate in a series of workshops and masterclasses with some of the world’s most renowned industry leaders. They will learn about all aspects of documentary filmmaking including story development, production, cinematography and post-production.
In addition to the masterclasses, the fellows will also have the opportunity to pitch for grants worth up to RM80,000 and receive impact mentoring from Doc Society.
Hollie is currently the Director of Australian Programs at Doc Society where she is dedicated to supporting independent documentary storytellers in the Asia-Pacific.
She is also a board member for the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) and the Global Impact Producers Alliance (GIPA).
As a documentary filmmaker and Impact Producer, Hollie’s films have screened at festivals and broadcasted within Australia and internationally. THE OPPOSITION is Hollie’s debut feature documentary produced by Media Stockade that made its world premiere at Hot Docs and IDFA in 2016 before winning the Grand Prize at FIFO, screening at the UN Human Rights Council, winning Best Documentary Feature at the Oz Flix Independent Film Awards and screenings in over 35 countries. Hollie’s latest short film UNBALANCED recently premiered in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald’s Vox Dox series and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.
Nilotpal Majumdar is the Founder and President of the Kolkata based nonprofit institute Documentary Resource Initiative that hosts DocedgeKolkata, Asian Forum for Documentary, an annual incubation cum pitching platform to support Asian nonfiction visual storytellers.
Nilotpal has been substantially devoting his time for teaching and mentoring emerging filmmakers through various incubation and industry platforms like Dhaka DocLab, Docsport Incheon, DocsKool Kathmandu, DMZ Docs, Asia Pacific Screen Lab, K-Docs, Liberation DocFest Bangladesh, Let’sdoc, Documentor, MSFDS Screenwriting Lab and others.
Nilotpal obtained his postgraduate diploma in Film Editing from Film & Television Institute of India, Pune. In his filmmaking endeavor he has been working as cinematographer, editor and director for both nonfiction and fiction genre. However, his most inspiring engagement is creative writing that includes poetry and short stories.
BAFTA nominated, director/producer Sean McAllister is one of the UK’s leading documentary filmmakers. His multi award winning films for BBC and Channel 4 TV have played all over the world. His specialty is the Middle East making powerful human stories in conflict zones like Iraq, Syria and Yemen. He makes sympathetic human stories with people caught in conflict.
Trained in fine arts, Adrien Faucheux directs and edits cinema films. Most of the projects he works on are in the field of auteur documentary cinema. They are shown at festivals, on television or distributed in theaters.
He teaches directing and editing at the University Paris-Cité, the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut and in workshops in film festivals. For four years, he led the programming of one main documentary film festival in France: “Les états généraux du film documentaire de Lussas”. He has been collaborating with the Freedom Film Network since 2019.
Albert is an indigenous filmmaker who is passionate about telling indigenous stories and marginalized communities. He has been involved with various short documentary productions since 2019 from directing, camera, sound, and editing.
Amanda is a Kadazan indigenous native from Sabah who has been actively involved in PACOS Trust’s programmes – a community-based organization advocating for the empowerment of indigenous people in Malaysia. She has a soft spot for documentary films and have co-shot and edited seven documentaries to date.
Born and raised in Penang. A self-taught documentary filmmaker. Creates and collaborates advocacy stories that focuses on Social and Environmental issues. Volunteers his time as a project and community facilitator – fishing villages and residence associations. Has worked and collaborated with Non-profit partners such as Women’s Centre For Change, Aliran, Penang Institute, Penang Forum and many more in various advocacy projects.
Mae Si has been in the industry since 2018 where she has worked as production assistant, coordinator, art lead and finally found her footing as a scriptwriter. She has written scripts for TVC, digitals ads, live shows, short films and most recently for local cinema content. She was also a First Assistant Director for one of her own scripts and hope to eventually become a director.
Chong Kok Choon is a Kuala Lumpur based visual artist. He graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Arts (MIA) in 1996 Diploma in Fine Art. This sets the foundation of aesthetics for his photography to transit from documenting to the realms of fine art. He was the former Art director of Art Square Creative before he decided to embark full-time into art scene in 2011. He has published a book titled “Flower of the Scared Rivers”- a travelogue to River Ganges, India. His photography portfolio titled “Two Countries, Same River” won the Spotlight Award in Portfolio Contest, Black & White Magazine(USA). He was part of the Taroko Arts Residency Project, which started his personal documentary filmmaking career. His keen investigation on the relation between forgotten history and forsaken environment led him to remote areas throughout the region.
Feisal is a filmmaker based in Malaysia. He has produced feature films available on Netflix, Tubi, Amazon Prime Video and Astro. His short films mostly explore social issues in Malaysia, such as baby-selling, custodial deaths and conversion therapy.
In 2019, Feisal was selected as a Fellow by Busan Asian Film School for their International Film Business program. In December 2019, his project ‘ANGKAT’ was selected for the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market 2019 in Singapore and won the AV8 award. Feisal was also selected for the Luang Prabang Talent Lab 2019, in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Institute. There he won the top prize, the Aurora Producing Award by Aurora Media Group.
A traveler by heart who explores the world with her folding bicycle, unhurriedly. Loves visual documentaries and records human interest stories on the people she meet on her journeys. Works as freelancer in still and movement visual documentation and behind-the-scenes prop wizard to pay her bills. Mostly shooting for events, documentary and company profiles assignment. Always on the lookout for telepathic connections with minds on the same frequency.
Kalash is a journalist, critic and filmmaker who is currently pursuing an MA in English Literature. He is a writer at the culture desk of The Vibes, a local digital news outlet. He has been selected for multiple prestigious journalism fellowships, and conducted international reporting, a feat even within the company. As recognition of his film and cultural criticism work, he became the first (and only) Malaysian to join FIPRESCI, an international film critics guild. Prior to working as a journalist, he has worked on multiple movie and television sets (most notably: Crazy Rich Asians, BBC’s Our Girl, and Astro Shaw’s Tombiruo).
An adventure enthusiast with diverse work experience. After almost a decade in the outdoor-related business, he started dabbling in environmental affiliations. Naeem has been involved in the production of various travelogues and documentaries in the past and has an affinity for non-fiction filmmaking. He loves staying fit and discovering new things.
Dr. Ngo Sheau Shi is a senior lecturer in the School of Communication at Universiti Sains Malaysia. She graduated with BA (Hons) in Communication in 1999 and MA in Film Studies in 2003 from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She obtained a Ph. D in Cinema Studies from La Trobe University, Australia, in 2010. She has published on feminism, cinema, and multiculturalism in Malaysian screen culture. She also produced two PSA videos under her research project entitled ‘Theorizing Multiculturalism in Malaysian Cinema’ in 2016. She has co-edited a UNESCO handbook on ‘Getting the Message Across: Reporting on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific: A Handbook for Journalists.’ In 2019, she produced a series of videos documenting a UNESCO journalism training workshop in Penang, Malaysia.
In 2012, Nizam started out as a participant in the Suara Community Filmmaking program and completed his first debut feature “Sunken Graves” in 2013. He was invited to screen it locally as well as multiple times internationally. With a background in graphic design and experience in community organizing, Nizam has developed his skills as a trainer and coordinator of the Suara Community Filmmaking program since 2015.
Raja Rodziah is an educator and researcher who is currently doing research on documentary films, cultural memory and history. She teaches film studies in the university mainly focusing on film analysis and interpretation.
A Malaysian cinematographer, documentarian and creative director, Thinakkaaran is passionate about conveying human narratives through observational and experimental methodology.
Thinakaran has a vast experience and knowledge in the art of cinematography and moving images. He applies his own brand of creativity by exploring the human condition from an emotive and spiritual angle.
Working as a family with a team of experienced creatives, Thinakkaaran articulates subjects and its form in a rhythmic composition, bringing a harmony between his subjects, their messages and the audience.
Born at the edge of the Millennials, Wilfred is a journalism graduate who has a passion for environmental communication specifically climate change communication.
He is constantly eager to learn and deepen his knowledge in the world of academics and research. His interest in societal issues was never sufficed in one area where he constantly explores other fields and disciplines.
He is a deep thinker in gender and racial issues. He believes that everything in the society is relatable to communication.
No, application to Freedom Film Fellowship is free.
Yes, selected applicants from out of state will have all their travel and accommodation expenses covered.
Although applicants are not required to have professional experience in filmmaking, they must have a basic level of familiarity with the technical aspects of filmmaking.
It is not a requirement for the application process, however we encourage applicants to have an idea of a story related to human rights, social justice or freedom of expression that they can develop throughout the fellowship process.
Selected applicants of this fellowship will be given the opportunity to pitch for grants worth up to RM80,000 to go towards their projects.
We only accept individual applications. However, selected fellows will be able to invite a production team member to attend relevant training sessions (eg; camera operator to attend cinematography syllabus) with prior approval from the organizer.
FREEDOM FILM NETWORK
Unit A-2-6, 8 Avenue,
Jalan Sungai Jernih 8/1,
46050 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia