FreedomFilmFest

FreedomFilmFest, also known as the KOMAS Freedom Film Festival (FFF), is an annual documentary film festival dedicated to human rights that takes place in Malaysia. Founded in 2003, it focuses on the themes encompassed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and strives to bring socially relevant films to the Malaysian audience.

FreedomFilmFest was conceived and created by KOMAS, a popular communications human rights non-government organization. KOMAS was established in 1993 to support civil society organizations and grassroots communities. FreedomFilmFest was founded in 2003 to promote human rights through socially relevant films. The current organizer of the festival is the Freedom Film Network (FFN), a non-profit organization that strives to support social filmmakers.

FreedomFilmFest is a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work to the Malaysian public. According to the organizers, the protection of human rights is the foundation for genuine democracy, justice, equality and peace, and the main goal of the festival is to illustrate this idea. Although the festival focuses on documentaries, its program also includes a number of feature-length and short live action films focusing on human rights and social justice.

FFF is held every September in the city of Petaling Jaya. It showcases about 30 Malaysian and foreign films over 8 days, attracting an audience of about 6,000. Each film screening draws around 200 viewers and is always followed by a Q&A or panel discussion. FFF offers a unique opportunity to see outstanding documentaries that are not screened anywhere else due to the control of mainstream media and lack of commercial backing.

Alongside film screenings, FreedomFilmFest hosts an annual film competition and a series of video workshops. The competition is open to films from around the world, but priority is given to South East Asian Films that are shorter than 60 minutes. The winners are selected by the jury and receive local, regional and international awards. The main award of FFF is the Justin Louis Award. It was named after a Malaysian human rights activist who drowned in the Baram River while investigating human rights abuses in the state of Sarawak.

FFF is the flagship project of the Freedom Film Network, but the organization also hosts film screenings in smaller cities and remote communities in order to reach audiences that don’t have access to socially relevant films.