24 Mar – The Freedom Film Festival is one of Malaysia's most well-known annual human rights festival where it has basically become a platform for filmmakers to showcase films that highlight the human rights issues in Malaysia. According to Astro Awani, the Freedom Film Festival has been officially launched with the screening of a Joshua Oppenheimer film, "The Look of Silence". "The Look of Silence" is a sequel of Oppenheimer's previous film, "The Act of Killing" which is a documentary about the 1965-66 Indonesian killings of communists. With the theme of 'Unseen, Unheard, Untold', the event organiser is calling out to all local filmmakers who are interested unveiling their film through this event. The deadline for the film entries will be on 1 June 2015, and will be screened at the festival between 15 and 20 September. The most impactful films will be shortlisted and nominated by the judges to be awarded for the 'Best Malaysian Film', 'Best SEA Film', 'Best Long Form' and 'Best Short Film'. The other contest from the festival is seeking independent or first time filmmakers who would like to present their story ideas and concepts for documentary film projects. Deadline for the proposal submission will be on 4 April 2015. As for the prizes for this contest, 3 film grants of RM8,000 will be awarded to each winner for a film on Malaysia and 1 film grant of SGD8,000 for a film on Singapore. (Photo Source: Astroawani.com)