ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Asian Network of Documentary(AND) Fund
2015 Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund
LIST Absent Without Leave
| Category | Dongseo Asia Fund |
|---|---|
| Project | Absent Without Leave |
| Director | LAU Kek Huat |
| Country | Taiwan, Malaysia |
| Director's Profile | Lau Kek Huat born in Malaysia, graduated from National Taiwan University of Arts. He won the Best Short Film Award in 2009 and 2013 at the Taiwan Golden Harvest Festival, and Best Director Award in 2009. His feature film script A very long waiting of Buluomi Ripe won Best Script Award in 2013 and was selected for The Taipei Produire au Sud workshop 2015, Festival des 3 Continents Nantes. Selected candidate in Golden horse academy 2013 led by Hou hsiao-hsien. Cinematographer for two Taiwan National Geography Channel documentaries: Taiwan’s Medical Miracle and Taiwan to the world: Amazing Aquarium. |
- Synopsis
- Captivated by a Malayan dream, they sacrificed their lives and families for a better future for the country. Their stories were left untold, banned and buried for 60 years. This is a story of an unknown man, an exiled army, and the unraveling of an old melody of “Love in Malaya”. The story begins with a man’s portrait that has hung on a wall for more than 30 years in an old wooden house in Perak, Malaysia. It had long been a taboo for my family to mention this man, bring up his name or talk about his past. A few years ago I found out that this man was my grandpa, an Malaya Communist Party (MCP) soldier who sacrificed his life in the Independence Fight of 1949. For years, many young Malaysians like me grew up without the knowledge of true history and were shadowed by fear to find out more. We were mystified and clouded by biased history, subverted by the government, school and media. This film is about my search for my absent grandpa, told from the account of my family’s memories. With secrets hidden in the deep rainforest, waiting to unfold. This is one of the many stories of beloved, yet forgotten families.
- Director's Note
- This is a journey that I must go on, young Malaysians are not told about history and the truth is censored. My grandfather joined the MCP in 1948 and my family has lived in clouded mystery and fear since then. The fear that originates from the banned history still exists today amongst Malaysians, who face many types of racial inequality. This secret of the past weighing on my family over many years spurned me to launch this documentary. Even amidst expected upcoming struggles and difficulties, it is my wish that this documentary uncovers the story left untold for 60 years by 400,000 souls.
- Festivals
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2016 Busan International Film Festvial - Wide Angle_Documentary Competition
2016 KaoShiung International Film Festival
2016 Singapore International Film Festival - Best Audience Choice Award
2016 Taipei Film Festival
2017 Salaya International Documentary Film Festival - Best Asian Documentary Award
2017 Taoyuan Film Festival - Winner of Special Jury Award
2018 One World Romania International Human Rights & Documentary Festival
2018 Taiwan International Documentary Festival - Grand Prize of Chinese Documentary Award & Merit Prize of the Taiwan Competition
- Still Cut
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