The First Asian Freedom Film Festival Kicked Off with a Full House

PRESS RELEASE

11 DEC 2006

The first Asian Freedom Film Fest kicked off with a full house!

The continuous rain and the scare of storm did not stop audience trickling in to the venue of Asian Freedom Film Fest (AFFF) at the University of Cebu Banilad Campus yesterday. By 7pm, the hall was packed and the volunteers had to put out additional chairs at the back. Around 150 audiences were entranced by Major Mary On’s spirit, the Karen freedom fighter in Burma that was featured in the opening film ‘Don’t fence me in’.

Last night theme revolved around refugees, with the Burmese struggles being centre of attention. The audiences that range from foreign civil societies’ delegates from a nearby conference to students and a few public walk-ins also shared their stories. Some testimonials that stood out are from an activist from Mindanao and also an ex-child soldier from Indonesia; both exclaimed how they could really relate to the films and hope to see Asean unite in our struggles. The panelist consisting of Congressman Mario Joyo Aguja, Debbie Stothard of Altsean-Burma and Charm Tong helped to further clarify the situation of Burma and also concurred with the sentiments of the crowd.

The 3 days event that started last night will end tomorrow on the 12^th Dec with an award giving ceremony at 6pm followed by cocktails. The award ceremony is to celebrate the 3 winning films of the AFFF competition. ‘Kun Yang’ by Vivian Limpin from the Philippines, documents the alienation, distance, movement, dreams, and aspirations of women migrant workers from the Philippines; ‘House of Despair, Part of Hope’ from Hong Kong, talks about how Indonesian women migrant domestic workers survive the hardships of working in Hong Kong despite issues such as abuse and underpayment from their employers and finally, ‘Suicide Jumpers’ by Herbert Docena showed that around 30,000 to 50,000 Filipino migrant workers – most of them female domestic helpers – were subjected to “collective punishment” in August 2006 in Israel because of the Lebanon bombing and how they fared. The 3 films are premiering at the film fest today and will also be screened again tomorrow morning at 11am, followed by other films from around the region.

The screenings and awards ceremony is free and open to public! So if you missed out last night and today, do not fret, you still have one last chance to catch some amazing films tomorrow!

This event sees filmmakers and civil societies from around the region coming together for screenings of exciting films and more exciting discussions that focuses on women and migration. It is organized by Migrant Forum in Asia - an organization that is dedicated to advocate rights of migrants in the region, together with Pusat Komas - a centre that promotes popular communication tools in working with the communities. It is also brought to you in cooperation with Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) Cebu and University of Cebu-Banilad Campus, supported by the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA). This film fest aims to mainstream issues of migrant workers at the regional level and to utilize the power of images and films to bring about greater awareness on migrants’ human rights issues.

For more details, please contact: TATCEE MACABUAG, Migrant Forum in Asia; Mobile #: 0917-5267171 or visit the website www.mfasia.org for the full film schedule.

The Films Will Go On! ! !

8 DEC 2006

The Films Will Go On!

The first ever Asian Freedom Film Fest (AFFF) is going on! No rain, storm or cancellation of Asean Summit will deter the exciting and free event from happening!

The 3 days event, to be held in University of Cebu Banilad Campus from the 10^th to 12^th Dec, will see filmmakers and civil societies from around the region coming together for screenings of exciting films and more exciting discussions that focuses on women and migration. This is organized by Migrant Forum in Asia - an organization that is dedicated to advocate rights of migrants in the region, together with Pusat Komas - a centre that promotes popular communication tools in working with the communities. This film fest aim to mainstream issues of migrant workers at the regional level and to utilize the power of images and films to bring about greater awareness on migrants’ human rights issues.

The opening film ‘Don’t Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees of Burma’ has traveled international film circuits such as Worldwide Short Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, May 2004; Finalist – Short Film & Video Competition and more. The film chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination in Burma. Other award winning films screen are ‘B.A.T.A.M.’ a contrasting stories of two women: Wati, a young factory worker, and Dewi, a prostituted woman, who both lived through a dramatic transformation in the Indonesian island of Batam, located in Singapore's doorstep; and ”UPROOTED: Refugees of the Global Economy” partly made here in the Philippines, presents three stories of immigrants who left their homes in Bolivia, Haiti, and the Philippines after global economic powers devastated their countries, only to face new challenges in the United States.

Most excitingly, we will see the premiere of the 3 winning films of this year’s AFFF competition. ‘Kun Yang’ by Vivian Limpin from the Philippines, documents the alienation, distance, movement, dreams, and aspirations of women migrant workers from the Philippines; ‘House of Despair, Part of Hope’ from Hong Kong, talks about how Indonesian women migrant domestic workers survive the hardships of working in Hong Kong despite issues such as abuse and underpayment from their employers and finally, ‘Suicide Jumpers’ by Herbert Docena showed that around 30,000 to 50,000 Filipino migrant workers – most of them female domestic helpers – were subjected to “collective punishment” in August 2006 in Israel because of the Lebanon bombing and how they fared.

The audience won’t just get to watch these films that you are unable to get from anywhere else, they also get to find out more about the issues that are portrayed in the films from forum sessions that follows, with panels of experts and migrant workers from around the region.

There is definitely no reason not to be there, and if it is the storm you are worried about, take a cab early and seek shelter with us while indulging in human-interest stories.

For more details, please contact: TATCEE MACABUAG, Migrant Forum in Asia,; Mobile #: 0917-5267171 or visit the website www.mfasia.org for the full film schedule.

Film on the Karen Refugees opens the Asian Freedom Film Festival 2006

Don't Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees, a film about the struggle of the peoples of Burma will open the Asian Freedom Film Festival 2006 in Cebu City on December 10, 2006.

The thirty-minute documentary from Writer-Director Ruth Gumnit chronicles the life of freedom fighter Major Mary On and reveals the courage and determination of the Karen refugees living in the Thai-Burma border as they fight for their survival. In the film, Major Mary explains the plight of the Karen people living inside Burma: "The displaced persons, they can't come to Thailand. They want to be refugees because they got no food, nothing to eat. In the forest they have to eat only bamboo shoots, and roots and leaves and all. Even the Burmese tried to teach the Karen that when you open the Karen's belly you see only leaves."

According to the producer, more than 100,000 undocumented migrants are living in refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. Some have been there for nearly twenty years while hundreds of thousands more hide in jungles on the Burma side. All have been forced from their homes by the Burmese military junta, called the State Peace and Development Council.

In 2005, faced with pressures from the international community the Burmese military junta was forced to forego its turn as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. The post was given to the Philippines who is hosting this year's ASEAN Leaders Summit in the Southern Philippine city of Cebu.

For the most part of its modern history, Burma has been ruled by the military when General Ne Win seized power in 1962 that toppled the democratic regime of U Thakin Nu. The present military junta has been at the helm since 1988.

William Gois, Regional Coordinator of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) said that he hopes that the film will push the leaders of the ASEAN to discuss the issue of migration and the push factors that lead people out of their homelands. "Migration is a complex issue in the region. It is time that they put serious thoughts on how best to confront this issue. We hope that by bringing these films on migration experience in the ASEAN our leaders will finally realize the urgency of passing a regional instrument that will protect the rights of all migrants,"

Don't Fence Me In won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2006 Washington DC Independent Film Festival. It also received the Director's Citation Award at the 2006 Black Maria Film Festival and a finalist at the USA Film Festival held in Dallas, Texas in 2004.

The film festival is organized by MFA and Pusat Komas, in cooperation with Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu. It supported by the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA). This year’s theme of the film festival is Women and Migration in the ASEAN.

Call for submission of films: Asian Freedom Film Festival 2006

(Photo from Pusat Komas)

We continue to accept submissions for the Asian Freedom Film Festival which will take place on December 10-12, 2006 in Cebu City, Philippines. It is organized by the Migrant Forum in Asia and Pusat Komas, in cooperation with Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu Chapter. The theme of the film festival is Women and Migration in the ASEAN region. Thus, we will be showing mostly films tackling the issues of women migrants in Southeast Asia.

We are accepting submissions of full-length features, short films and documentaries with focus on the various issues of migration including undocumented workers, forced migration, and internally displaced persons. The films must be about migrants from and working within the ASEAN region. Films from other non-ASEAN countries will also be accepted but they will be shown on the third day of the festival. The films shall be submitted in digital video or DVD format not later than October 31, 2006.

This film festival seeks to mainstream issues of migrant workers at the Southeast Asian regional level and to utilize the power of images and films to bring about greater awareness on migrants’ human rights issues. Leading migrants' rights advocates, students and human rights activists from the region will attend the film festival during its 3-day run. We will also invite selected film makers to discuss their works.

If you need more information please email us at mfa@pacific.net.hk or call us at (63 2) 4333508. The film festival is supported by the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA).