Seven young filmmakers from Thailand and the Philippines are set to showcase their short films on human rights in the digital age as part of Tech Tales Youth.
Produced by EngageMedia, the film collection will premiere on Thursday, December 7, 2PM to 5PM Manila time (UTC+8) at the University of the Philippines Film Center. Registration starts at 1PM. Aside from the film screening, the program will feature talkback sessions with the filmmakers.
The collection features the following films:
- Digital Rights Lab by Weeraya “Min” Vichayaprasertkul
- Lugal Abu (Gray Area) by EJ Gagui
- Doxxed by Thanakorn “Meen” Yangmeesuk
- This Is How Her Home Was Built by Jaime Morados
- Black Hole by Patipat Oakkharhaphunrat
- Nanay (Mama) by Kristine Camille Sulit and JV Sangalang
- On Our Own Time (Sa Sarili Nating Oras) by Kat Catalan
The films from the Philippines cover stories on digital labour, new money and platform accountability, access to the internet and digital technologies by marginalised groups, and disinformation contributing to historical revisionism. The impact of doxxing on women, the importance of data privacy, and the accountability of the state and private companies are portrayed in the films from Thailand.
The film collection’s premiere is co-presented by the UP Film Institute, DAKILA, Active Vista, Foundation for Media Alternatives, Cinemata, and Computer Professionals’ Union, with DZUP 1602 and Altermidya as publicity partners.
“EngageMedia is thrilled to offer young filmmakers a platform to develop their skills while also promoting digital rights and social issue advocacy. We believe these filmmakers will become powerful advocates for human rights, and we are optimistic about their impact on their communities,” said King Catoy, EngageMedia video manager and Tech Tales Youth project manager and creative producer.
“With the social impact grant that came with Tech Tales Youth, we are confident that these filmmakers will be able to engage with other advocates and ensure that the issues covered in their works are widely popularized. From January to March next year, their films will be screened in various communities, and we look forward to seeing the impact they will have,” he added.
Aside from the premiere in Manila, the Tech Tales Youth film collection will also have the following screenings:
- Small community screening at Sitio San Roque, a self-built, urban poor community in Quezon City. It will be held on December 8 (Friday) at 5:30PM Manila time.
- Premiere at the Thai Short Film and Video Festival on December 17 (Sunday), 1PM Bangkok time
Engaging young, creative voices
Tech Tales Youth builds on the success of the 2021 film collection Tech Tales: Films about Digital Rights in the Asia-Pacific. The new edition aims to bring young filmmakers’ creative voices into the digital rights movement, broadening their knowledge of how human rights and digital rights are intertwined.
The selected filmmakers underwent extensive mentorship and learning sessions on impact production to learn more about how they can utilise filmmaking for impact and advocacy.
Between June and November 2023, the filmmakers developed plans for their films’ impact campaign, which included identifying impact goals, target audiences, potential partners, and outputs and activities. EngageMedia also held multiple discussions with filmmakers to share insights on the narratives and how to find advocacy partners and engage with the public on digital rights issues.
The film collection aims to bring in new allies and audiences to the digital rights movement and create more digital rights films that the movement can leverage for its advocacy efforts.
