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 10th to 12th 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.
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