Not on Our Watch

On Freedom of Expression

When art, media, and dissent are suppressed, democracy itself is under siege. This forum spotlights stories of courage from those who dare to speak truth to power, affirming that the freedom to create and express cannot, and must not, be silenced.

Schedule

Short Films

not love songs

By Jackson Brook

Documentary | 2021 | 16 mins | Cambodia

LOGLINE

A young Cambodian rapper is given a choice: apologize for his music that champions social justice, or face imprisonment under a sweeping law commonly used by the government to silence freedom of expression.

Doxxed

By Thanakorn Yangmeesuk

Docu, Fiction | 2024 | 10 mins | Thailand

LOGLINE

Jane is a political and human rights journalist who maintains an active online presence. She frequently posts pictures and checks in at various locations during her daily routines. She also hangs out with her close friend, Dee, to whom she confides about her work.

One day, Jane’s editor calls her in for a discussion and tells her that she has been doxxed. Jane is harassed by individuals and groups sending threatening messages and posting harmful information about her. Initially suspecting Dee to be the source of the info leak, she realises that she is mistaken after narrowly escaping from a man dressed in black who threatened her while on her way home.

Now determined to find the source of the leak, Jane finds an account that had collected her previous posts, including information about other people in the news agency. The discovery made her realise that the culprit must be someone in her workplace.

Black out

By anonymous filmmaker

Fiction | 2021 | 16 mins | Myanmar

LOGLINE

In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup, the country is faced with state-mandated internet and information blackouts. Hnin, a single mother, and Mon, her daughter and an anti-coup protester, are among those who can no longer access the internet at home.

Balang Terang (Jar of Light)

By Intan Sakinah

Fiction | 2024 | 15 mins | Malaysia

LOGLINE

After being deceived by a prevalent online disinformation involving a Chinese business owner, a Malay-Muslim eatery owner and his daughter become entangled in the same web of prejudice when they take in the businessman’s cyberbullied daughter.

Shutdown

By Ryand Ugalde

Documentary | 2025 | 19 mins | Philippines

LOGLINE

In 2020, ABS-CBN, the biggest broadcasting network in the Philippines closed after being deprived to renew its franchise. This documentary tells the story of three former journalists who were affected by the network’s closure amid a global crisis. This move is deemed politically motivated by those from the media giant due to the former administration’s multiple threats prior to its SHUTDOWN.

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Other films we are screening

Climate Story Lab

After a year of development and creation, the four grantees of the Climate Story Lab are finally ready for their first screening!

Magellan

by Lav Diaz | The Philippines’ official entry to the 98th Academy Awards

A portrayal of Ferdinand Magellan and Beatriz Barbosa's 1517 marriage in Seville, focusing on their brief time together before his departure on the Spanish crown's expedition.

Delikado

by Karl Malakunas

DELIKADO follows environmental defenders Bobby and Tata of the Palawan NGO Network Inc and former El Nido mayor Nieves. They risk their lives in David versus Goliath-style struggles, stopping politicians and businessmen from destroying the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier”.

Ghosts of Future Past | On Martial Law

Southeast Asian Short Films Exhibition and Discussion

This year’s Active Vista Human Rights Festival: TRESE calls you to gather, remember, and resist, through powerful films that confront the haunting legacies of Martial Law.