The thing about Freedom.

Is that you have to lose it before you can truly appreciate it.

I went with Sharyn, Lynn and Liu Tze to the Freedom Film Fest at the Actor's Studio Bangsar on Wednesday and Friday night; Wed specifically to watch Ms. Ong Ju Lin's short about the Broga Incinerator case. For those of you who don't know her, she is an independent reporter who has been at the frontlines, conducting investigative journalism in places where most wouldn't dare to go. Yet she manages to maintain a strong adherence to the code of journalism ethics.

However, as i was feeling somewhat unwell since tuesday plus a lack of sleep, i made alot of "cold" jokes and idiotic comments so pls forgive me for that lol, one does not think well when sleep deprived with a cold.

Alot of other interesting topics were explored as well, mostly dealing with social issues such as freedom of speech and freedom of expression, which is rather restricted in Malaysia and (surprisingly) Singapore, where the media is controlled by the government and laws such as the infamous ISA which hangs over the collective head of Journalists and other newsmedia people like the Sword of Damocles. However, as RL rears its ugly head on occasions such as this, i could not catch every single one of the screenings.

One of the most interesting movies i was fortunate enough to catch was about the terrible situation of people in rural India who are living in acute poverty, where the local government officials regularly commited corrupt practices, such as fabricating records and skimming off development funds.

The video showcases the struggle of the rural village people against the corruption of their local government officials, and has a unique, poignant mood laced with scathing satire.

You can find more info and a shortened version of the movie at (link courtesy of Delphinus).

The other video that caught my attention was the interviews of former ISA detainees done by local producer Hakim, where they related their experiences when they were in detention. To cut a long story short, it was very interesting.

The last screening i attended was from Martyn, a film maker from our neighbours over at Singapore, which basically told the story about the struggles of an opposition political activist to get the public to sit up and fight for their rights instead of sitting on their hands for fear of reprisals from the government, and the lengths to which the ruling party went to make life difficult for him.

Anyways, see you all at next year's FFF!

Lynn, Sharyn and Liu Tze: remember this photo? Bwahahaha!