Famed filmmaker tracks down former Japanese soldiers in Malaysia.
Social & External
Local filmmaker Woo Ming Jin and his crew traversed across Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to find 'Seruan Merdeka' (1947) - the first film made in Malaya post-WWII, and also the first film in the history of Malaysian cinema to feature a biracial cast of Malays and Chinese. While tracking the film's whereabouts, Woo met many locals along the way, whom he interviewed in an effort to find out more about the country's history.
A German diving instructor, Tom Broder, falls in love with the natural beauty of Malaysia - and with a courageous Malaysian biologist and environmentalist, Sarifah Bt. Ismail, fighting with her to prevent an unscrupulous hotel owner from constructing a holiday resort on a nature reserve where turtles are preserved from extinction. Then, when his elder brother, Kai, and his family turn up unexpectedly, the diving instructor is confronted with his past... because the woman his brother married was once the love of his life, until she chose the other brother. Since then the two of them haven't said a single word to each other. Now the older brother announces that he wants them to be reconciled. Nobody realises at this stage that he is up to his neck in debt and plans to fake his death in Malaysia, so he can begin a new life.
Temiar Senoi, an indigenous people of Malaysia, live in the realm of unique dream culture. Their exceptionally harmonious and non-violent way of living has been claimed to be a direct result of their dream directed habits. Their sole aim is to exist in balance with nature and fellow man. But the nature is under threat by a massive rain forest logging operation masterminded by the Malaysian government. And the tribe itself is under another, direct threat by the same government, who try to institute "modern" customs among the tribes, including state religion and education programs.
M for Malaysia documents the 2018 Malaysian General Elections when the people of Malaysia, led by a 92 year-old former Prime Minister, overthrew one of the longest ruling governments in the world. Despite endless barriers thrown at them, the tense campaign pushed on with the most surprising result in the country’s history.
Teens on a study program abroad have to learn survival techniques when they crash on an uncharted Malaysian island.
The documentary retraces the steps of Bruno Manser, a man from Switzerland who went to live with the indigenous tribe of the Penan in the Jungle of Borneo and endef up helping their struggle to defend their rainforest against greedy logging companies. The movie features original film, photo and voice recordings by Bruno Manser made in the 1980s, as well as new recordings showing how the life of the Penan has changed in just a few decades.
“DISCIPLES” is a new Dazed film by Jess Kohl exploring the subcultural world of Malaysian skinheads including the traditional, SHARP skins, and Nazis.
Malaysia has two countries in one, divided by the South China Sea. Nestled between India and China, Malaysia is the most multiracial country on earth.
The Borneo Case is a unique story filmed over 25 years and tells the epic tale of how the rainforest, home of the last nomads was stripped of its natural resources. It reveals how billions of dollars of illegal profits solicited by the Chief Minister of Sarawak State in Malaysia were money laundered with the assistance of the largest global banks into offshore accounts and property portfolios all over the world. The case was labelled as the largest environmental crime of the century.
“In Search of Unreturned Soldiers was about former soldiers of the Japanese army who chose not to return to Japan after the war. I found several of them who had remained in Thailand. Two years later, I invited one of them to make his first return visit to Japan and documented it in Outlaw-Matsu Returns Home. During the filming, my subject Fujita asked me to buy him a cleaver so that he could kill his ‘vicious brother.’ I was shocked, and asked him to wait a day so that I could plan how to film the scene. By the next morning, to my relief, Fujita had calmed down and changed his mind about killing his brother. But I couldn’t have had a sharper insight into the ethical questions provoked by this kind of documentary filmmaking.” —Shôhei Imamura
Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute is a 1975 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. It is a documentary on one of the Japanese "karayuki-san," who were women that were taken from their homes in Japan and used as prostitutes in the post-war period. Many of these women were told that they were doing this to support their families because of the extreme poverty that the war left much of Japan to live in. Imamura focuses on a particular such woman who was sent to Malaysia and never returned to Japan. Joan Mellen, in The Waves at Genji's Door, called this film, "Perhaps the most brilliant and feeling of Imamura's fine documentaries."
Eco-Traveler Safari of Sarawak is a one hour documentary that will take viewers on an odyssey that not only reveals the intense beauty of a people and the nature that surrounds them, but a little known and compelling reason to save the rainforest.
In December 1993, a luxury condominium tower block collapse after ground erosion from the neighbouring hillside. About 50 people lost their lives and to this day has become one of the darkest and saddest tragic incidents in Malaysian history. Twenty years later in 2013, a group of documentary filmmakers venture into the remaining two blocks that is left standing to do a ghost hunting expedition. What they discovered is not for the faint-hearted.
They sacrificed their lives fighting for the independence of their country, but their stories remain untold for 60 years. The story begins with a man’s portrait, which has been hanging for more than 30 years in an old wooden house where I was born and grew up in Perak, Malaysia. It’s long become a taboo that my families do not talk about this man, not even to bring up his name or his past. Eventually I found out he is my grandfather, who sacrificed his life fighting for Malaysia’s independence and decolonisation, but his and his comrades’ stories are excluded from history. This documentary set out to unveil the mysteries.
The creator, Seth Ho, takes his audience on a journey to Malaysia to explore and review the unique menu items offered at a local McDonald's. Blending food commentary with a personal travel experience, the documentary highlights the physical effects of globalization, migration and its role in modern culture.
"The Tides Will Decide" is a documentary that follows Priscilla Patrick, a well-known Malaysian radio personality, and how she was caught in the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Miraculously surviving the devastating waves, she opens up about the harrowing incident and the events that followed. As Priscilla prepares to return to Sri Lanka for the 20th anniversary of the tragic event, this documentary will share glimpses of her life, highlighting the individuals who have influenced her, her relationship with God, and how everything came together when the ocean nearly claimed her life.
In 1996, Rémy Schejbal, a seasoned spelunker, assembled a small team and headed to Malaysia. His goal: to photograph the largest cave in the world for the first time.
Explore one of the most ancient forests on Earth through the eyes of its youngest inhabitants. Follow a baby proboscis monkey, translucent spiderlings, and a captivating orchid mantis from infancy to adulthood in this vibrant jungle world.
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."
Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old veteran of the New Guinea campaign in World War II, sets out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives to find the truth behind atrocities committed by Japanese military, in particular the unexplained killing of two Japanese privates in his unit.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Journey into the extraordinary world of "The Witcher" — from casting the roles to Jaskier's catchy song — in this behind-the-scenes look at the series.
A look at the story behind Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all of the Marvel films, the Marvel One-Shots and "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."!
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
A bitter battle is fought between Australian and Japanese soldiers along the Kokoda trail in New Guinea during World War II.
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
WWE Superstar Mike "The Miz" Mizanin returns as Jake Carter where he is assigned to protect a whistleblower who wishes to expose a corrupt military defense contractor. However, the military hires a heavily armed team of mercenaries to kill her and it's up to Carter to stop them at any cost.
A Pokémon scientist named Dr. Yung has invented a Mirage System that can recreate extinct Pokémon. Ash, Misty, and Professor Oak are asked to help test it out, but the Mirage System is suddenly taken over by a being called the Mirage Master! It's up to Ash and his friends to stop this mysterious villain - but when the Mirage Master steals classified Pokémon data and created a Mirage Pokémon so powerful that Ash and Pikachu can't defeat it, will out heroes still find a way to save the day?
Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.
A Marine must do whatever it takes to save his kidnapped sister and stop a terrorist attack masterminded by a radical militia group.
Mr. Freeze turns Killer Croc and Bane into super-sized monsters, and they bash their way through downtown Gotham until the Caped Crusader and his team of heroes join the fight in their giant robot mechs.
Acting Lieutenant Hornblower and his crew are captured by the enemy while escorting a Duchess who has secrets of her own.
