Deadline for applications: Tuesday, December 31, 2024, 23:59 Bangkok time (UTC+7)
Last updated: 10 December 2024
Cinemata is excited to announce its first edition of the Community Curator Residency Program, inviting two dedicated film curators from Southeast Asia to join our mission of amplifying civic space advocacy through film.
What is Cinemata?
Cinemata is a community-driven video platform for human rights and environmental films in the Asia-Pacific. Launched in 2021, it is a free, open-source, and secure platform that empowers filmmakers and advocates to share their work while advancing efforts to expand civic spaces in the Asia-Pacific.
With over 6,000 films from 30 countries covering topics like climate change, gender equality, indigenous rights, and freedom of expression, Cinemata provides a crucial space for underrepresented voices and often overlooked issues. Through curated film programs and collaborations with various initiatives, Cinemata highlights the power of cinema in advancing social change. Here are some examples:
- Legacy of Struggle: Cinematic Perspectives on Martial Law
In partnership with DAKILA, Active Vista Human Rights Festival, Altermidya, AlternaTV, and Amnesty International Philippines, Cinemata organised a screening and talkback session featuring films about the Philippines’ martial law era. - (Un)censored: Women Breaking Biases
For International Women’s History Month, Cinemata collaborated with Freedom Film Network and Inteamates to present a film collection addressing critical and often controversial women’s issues in the Asia-Pacific. - A Year of Resistance
Marking the one-year anniversary of Myanmar’s coup in 2022, this program spotlighted the country’s ongoing struggle for democracy through the lens of cinema. - Voices of the Land: Environmental Reflections in Asian Cinema
This program explored the intricate intersections of environmental degradation, conservation, and socio-political landscapes in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines through cinema.
Why Civic Spaces Matter
The Asia-Pacific region faces various pressing challenges, including political repression, environmental degradation, and discrimination. For human rights defenders (HRDs), environmental activists, and filmmakers, these challenges demand urgent action. In this increasingly hostile environment, digital storytelling through film has become a transformative tool for raising awareness, mobilizing communities, and driving change.
The Community Curator Residency Program offers a unique opportunity to harness the power of film to defend civic spaces and promote human rights in the region.
Program Duration and Time Commitment
The program will run for six months, from February to July 2025. The work setup is entirely remote. Participants are expected to dedicate 8–16 hours per week, with the flexibility to spread this time across the week based on the project’s requirements and the curator’s workflow. There will also be occasional online meetings with the Cinemata team to ensure alignment with program goals.
For this inaugural edition of the Community Curator Residency Program, we are selecting two curators who will be involved in the following functions:
- Curating a film program addressing issues on shrinking civic spaces in the Asia-Pacific
- Facilitating at least two talkback sessions with filmmakers, CSOs, and human rights advocates
- Developing resources and online advocacy campaign materials to complement the film program
- Moderating and featuring films on Cinemata.org before, during, and after the virtual film festival
- Testing and providing feedback on Cinemata.org’s site enhancements and new features
Timeline
- January 2025: Notification of selected curators and onboarding
- February – March 2025: Development of the film program
- April 2025: Film program showcase with talkback sessions at the Cinemata Virtual Film Festival
- May – July 2025: Development of digital advocacy campaign resources and articles
What We’re Looking For:
We seek curators who are:
- Passionate about advocating for social justice, civic spaces, and human rights.
- Experienced in film curation, programming, or related fields.
- Connected to or familiar with Southeast Asian networks of filmmakers and human rights advocates.
Required Criteria
- Based in the Asia-Pacific
- Proficient in English
- Must have a body of work related to film and/or human rights advocacy
- Available to start on the first week of February 2025
- Committed to completing the program until the last week of July 2025
- Willing to work with the Cinemata team in developing the film program
- Willing to collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs), advocacy groups, and filmmakers in developing the film program and advocacy campaigns
- Familiarity with digital advocacy campaigns and audience engagement strategies preferred
Why Join?
This is a unique opportunity to shape meaningful dialogues on defending civic spaces, connecting with a network of human rights advocates and filmmakers, and contributing to developing an independent video platform dedicated to social issue and environmental films in the Asia-Pacific.
Benefits:
- Stipend of USD 2,800 per curator (with additional communication allowance)
- Showcase of the project through a virtual film screening
- Featured curator article
- Opportunity to engage and collaborate with civil society organizations (CSOs), filmmakers, and human rights advocates across the Asia-Pacific region
For additional inquiries, reach out to Cinemata Project Lead, Jen Tarnate, at [email protected].
Deadline: Submit your application by December 31, 2024, 23:59 Bangkok time (UTC+7).
