Taking liberties: independent filmmakers representing the tudung in Malaysia

Abstract

Since 2000, digital technology has democratized fi lmmaking in Malaysia, giving rise to a new generation of international fi lm festival award-winning directors. Numerous private colleges and universities began to offer fi lm and animation courses; the Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia (Art Film Club) screened foreign fi lms and also ran special screenings on Malaysian short fi lms and documentaries several times a year; fi lm festivals increased and there began to be overlaps between local fi lm activists and social activism, manifested in the Freedom Film Fest offerings which focused on human rights. 1 In 2005, the Goethe-Institut in Kuala Lumpur and the Multimedia Development Corporation initiated and sponsored a short fi lm competition on the subject of the tudung (headscarf). 2 The competition intended to highlight �creative visual attempts that lend themselves best to portraying the width of social and religious functions performed by the �tudung� right up to its current status of being a fashionable designer item and an accessory.�