Month: February 2009

Name:

Chi Too

Location:

Malaysia

About:

Chi Too from Malaysia is a
tree-hugger with a video camera. After a long childhood obsession
with the leatherback turtle, he was deeply disturbed to learn that
it was near extinction when he was 12. It was then that he realised
that something was very wrong.

From music recording, advertising,
photography and now film making as well, Chi Too has embarked on a
colourful journey of creative expressions that can be found on his
blog: hyperbolica.blogspot.com

Video history:

As part of the Global Forest
Research Station of Greenpeace, he made ‘Paradise Bus‘ detailing the efforts of the local
communities to practice sustainable forestry in defense against
the onslaught of large scale commercial logging in Papua New
Guinea . This film will make you laugh at the spontaneity of the
filmmaker who ran along with his subjects as they jump onto the
logs and push them into the lake. This film will make you shake
your fist in anger at the logging company’s blatant lies to the
communities involved. This film will teach you that logging might
be necessary, but there are ways to do it sustainably.

Recent work:

His most recent film ‘What
Rainforest?‘ reveals
the onslaught of oil palm plantations on the Native Customary
Rights land of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak in Malaysia. It
is part of a bigger campaign found at www.whatrainforest.com which aims to restore the rights of the indigenous peoples and to
stop, and eventually reverse, the destruction of the rainforest.

In their words:

Tell us who you are as a
filmmaker

I am not a filmmaker, I only happen
to make films. Films are one of the many mediums in which I engage
my audience with.

How did you come to video as a
medium? Why do you work with the moving image?

I was introduced to video whilst
studying in college where I began making fictional short films. I
work with the moving image simply because it can be an effective
means to address and convey ideas and issues. However, I would
also be the first to assert that the moving image can also be the
most ineffective means to convey ideas and issues. I have never
dared to call myself a filmmaker, simply because I’d like to
believe that I am capable of expressing myself through various
mediums, and that various issues have various needs that can only
be effectively expressed by various mediums.

What are the main issues you
address in your video work?

My main concerns are of the
rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants. My passion for the
issue began with the former, however, upon learning the sufferings
and injustice faced by latter as a result of the former, I began
shifting my attention towards the indigenous peoples.

What radicalised you as a
filmmaker – or how did you come to work with these issues? Did it
happen in the moment, or was it a process?

I was really thrown into the deep
end when I began. I was called by Greenpeace to Papua New Guinea
as a volunteer at the Global Forest Rescue Station. As volunteers,
we were supposed to convey our experiences to our respective
national organizations via blogs.

Unfortunately for me, there is no
Greenpeace presence in Malaysia, therefore I thought that perhaps
the best thing to do is to make a documentary about it. Reality
sank in hard when I arrived in Papua New Guinea only to realize
that I had no idea how to make a documentary. It was a case of
sink or swim. Fortunately for me, it was there where I met the
late Pip Starr. Whilst I was there, Pip screened ‘The Okapa
Connection’ to the local community, It was then that I had my
eureka moment: ‘So that’s how you make a documentary’… I went on
to make ‘Paradise Bus’.

Tell us about your favourite
piece of video you have made, in regards to social justice or
environment.

Having made three documentaries, I
have yet to make one which I am truly happy with. Some may say
that I am too harsh with myself, but yeah… I believe my
favourite social justice video is somewhere in the future.

How do you think online
distribution is changing the field of independent video making?
How do you use online tools in your work?

I use online video as part of my
distribution strategy. However, due to the length of my films and
the available (or rather lack of) internet infrastructure in my
country, I do not take really take it too seriously as audiences
tend to shut themselves off if they have to wait for videos to
load. Unless of course if the said audience is already interested
in the issue itself. Which leads me to the problematic nature of
the internet, in which content only reaches out to audiences who
are already interested in the first place. Though this is good to
bind solidarity among activists and believers in change,
unfortunately, it does very little in terms of changing
perceptions of the average person on the streets, which I’d like
to believe is the ultimate goal of the social filmmaker.

This is compounded by the fact that
the internet is now over-saturated with videos that are of very
low quality and value. This makes it even more difficult for a
filmmaker to push his/her film across the internet. I would say
that internet video was in its initial stages revolutionary for
independent filmmakers, but of late, given the mass competition we
face on the internet, it might have turned into a monster that is
beyond our control.

Tools like EngageMedia are
heaven-sent for filmmakers and discerning audiences who yearn for
quality material. However, the question remains as to how are we
going to get the ‘average Joe’ who enjoys bloopers on YouTube
to come over to EngageMedia and get their dose of social activism?

This is a difficult question which I
have no answer to. But as a filmmaker who puts much time and
resources into producing a film, I cannot allow myself to leave
distribution to optimism and feel good vibes about the internet.
This is a question that I will strive to answer for as long as I
still make films, and as long as the internet still exists.

Any other comments?

Quite a number of my friends and
family have questioned me as to why I do what I do. Many have
warned me of the potential dangers I’m putting myself in. Many
have told me that this could be a job for ‘somebody else’.
Unfortunately, the current situation requires immediate attention.
And fortunately for me, to everyone else… I am ‘somebody else’

Linkage:

Chi Too’s EngageMedia Page

Chi Too’s Blog

WhatRainforest.com