Curator Voices

Finding the Marvelous in the Ordinary: How the BMW Shorties Has Shaped Malaysian Short Films

A reflection on how the BMW Shorties has helped shape a decade of Malaysian short cinema, drawing from Grand Prize–winning films now available on Cinemata. In this essay, curator Nadira Ilana foregrounds intimate, quietly political stories rooted in the everyday. Read more.

When Water Carries Stories: Community Screenings of Rising Waters, Raising Rights

In December 2025, water became more than a resource or a metaphor—it became a conversation starter across the Asia-Pacific. Rising Waters, Raising Rights: Human Rights Through the Lens of Water, a curated film program presented by Cinemata for International Human Rights Day, brought together audiences from Manila to Kota Kinabalu, from Brooklyn to Chiang Mai, creating ripples of dialogue around shared struggles. Read more.

Rising Waters, Raising Rights: Human Rights Through the Lens of Water

This program marks the culmination of the Cinemata Country Curators Residency, led by Nadira Ilana (Malaysia) and Eunice Helera (Philippines), who have worked since July  2025 to build connections between filmmakers, curators, and advocates across Southeast Asia. Learn more about being a Watch Party Host here. 

You Can Never Kill the Revolution: A Film Program

Curated by Christ Dustly Go Tan, this program honors Andres Bonifacio—leader of the 1896 Philippine Revolution—by examining how the revolutionary spirit lives on today in diverse forms, from street protests to armed resistance in the mountains, and in personal struggles against systemic oppression. Through stories of anger, sacrifice, and collective action, these films demonstrate that the fight for genuine freedom continues as long as exploitation and injustice persist. Read more.

This Land is Mined

Indigenous People (IP) communities have long found themselves at the epicenter of development aggression and armed conflict. Their ancestral lands, which form a deep part of their identity, are increasingly being converted into agricultural plantations and exploited as open-pit mines, effectively robbing them of their heritage. The virtual program ‘This Land is Mined’ by Christ Dustly Go Tan aims to shed light on the displacement of indigenous communities and their identities. Read more. 

(In)Visible People: Seeing Malaysia’s Stateless Communities

Invisible People is a six-part animated documentary series by Malaysian filmmaker Jean Ho that humanises the struggles of Malaysia's stateless and refugee communities. Through personal stories and expert analysis, the series exposes the systemic failures that render people stateless, from discriminatory citizenship laws affecting Malaysian mothers to the complex migration issues in Sabah. Read more. 

The Cracks of Progress

Curated by Eunice Helera, a Filipina participating in the Cinemata Country Curator Residency Program, this selection gathers films that expose the human and environmental toll of development across Southeast Asia. From displaced indigenous communities facing dam projects to children navigating polluted harbours and farmers resisting corporate land grabs, these works reveal how promises of prosperity often conceal exploitation and erasure. Read more.

Curating Visions: Cinemata Partners with University of Dhaka

Cinemata curators present a selection of powerful student films from the Department of Television, Film and Photography at the University of Dhaka. Working closely with faculty lecturer Saiyeed Shahjada Al Kareem, our curatorial team will continue programming exceptional works that document democratic struggles, human rights issues, and social change from Bangladesh's emerging filmmakers—showcasing voices that deserve global audiences on a secure, independent platform. Read more.

Reimaginations and Contradictions of Imagined Memories: A Film Program

This virtual film program showcases how short films serve as forms of imagined memory from the youth—powerful reimaginations of the past that confront the same historical atrocities and Marcosian myths perpetuated during those dark times. These films reveal the contradictions of our contemporary present that continue to challenge the masses, while illuminating current social realities that demand urgent attention. Through the lens of young filmmakers, these works bridge memory and activism, offering fresh perspectives on persistent struggles for justice and truth. Programmed by Christ Dustly Go Tan. Read and watch here

Meet Cinemata's New Community Curators: Eunice Helera and Nadira Ilana

In the coming months, Eunice Helera and Nadira Ilana will be curating films and programs for Cinemata.org, programming films on the front page while engaging with filmmakers and advocates from their communities and networks. Their work is part of the Cinemata Community Curator Residency Program, an ongoing initiative to ensure diverse community voices and perspectives are authentically represented on the platform. Building on the foundation laid by previous curators Patrick Campos from the Philippines and Aghniadi from Indonesia, Nadira and Eunice's programmatic work will culminate in a collaborative human rights film program designed for online watch parties and other hybrid community activities. Read more.

For the Love of Mixed Media: A Film Program

This program by Christ Dustly Go Tan explores how mixed media functions as a form of resistance within contemporary Filipino narratives. These works represent more than artistic achievement—they serve as essential tools for conveying critical intentions and messages to both screen and viewer. Read more. 

Cinemata Features: Aghniadi

Cinemata spotlights Aghniadi, a filmmaker and human rights campaigner from Indonesia who currently serves as Regional Communications Coordinator at Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR). With a background in media and human rights advocacy, he has crafted stories in both written and audiovisual forms for organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International. Read more. 

Cinemata spotlights Aghniadi, a filmmaker and human rights campaigner from Indonesia who currently serves as Regional Communications Coordinator at Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR). With a background in media and human rights advocacy, he has crafted stories in both written and audiovisual forms for organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International.

Aghniadi is also part of the first batch of the Cinemata Community Curator Residency Program, which supports curators from the Asia-Pacific in organizing film programs that address pressing social and environmental issues. The residency aims to strengthen regional solidarity, expand access to underrepresented works, and reimagine film curation as a tool for civic engagement. Read more. 

Cinemata Features: Patrick Campos

Cinemata highlights the work of Patrick F. Campos, a film scholar, programmer, and critic from the Philippines. An associate professor at the University of the Philippines Film Institute, his work explores the intersections of politics, aesthetics, and regional cinema in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He has been involved in programming, curating, jury work, and selection committees for a wide range of film festivals, art institutions, and advocacy organizations across Asia and beyond on local, national, and international scales.

Patrick is also part of the first batch of the Cinemata Community Curator Residency Program, which supports curators from the Asia-Pacific in organizing film programs that address pressing social and environmental issues. The residency aims to strengthen regional solidarity, expand access to underrepresented works, and reimagine film curation as a tool for civic engagement. Read more.

Call for Applications: Cinemata Community Curator Residency Program in Film and Human Rights Advocacy