- This event has passed.
“The Borneo Case” Screening and Discussion
7 July, 2017 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Thailand premiere of The Borneo Case will be at SEA Junction 7 July at 5.30-7.30PM. The documentary is about the tragic destruction of the rainforests in Sarawak. Shuttling between the jungles of Borneo, the UK and Switzerland; the film seeks to unravel the nexus of power and money behind the devastation of vast tracts of virgin forest. The event is doubly special because Mutang Urud –one of the film’s main characters – will be at the screening and will answer questions afterwards.
Synopsis
In The Borneo Case, documentary filmmakers Erik Pauser and Dylan Williams spend five years intimately following the trail of an unlikely group of activists, made up of an exiled tribesman, a historian, an investigative journalist and a flamboyant DJ, whose aim is to investigate how profits from the illegal logging that has annihilated more than 90% of the Malaysian Borneo Rainforest, have been money laundered into property portfolios all around the world.
This film starts in Montreal where former activist Mutang Urud lives in exile. As a result of his role in attempting to stop the illegal logging of his people’s lands, Mutang was tortured and imprisoned whilst his best friend Swiss activist Bruno Manser disappeared in the forest. Many suspect that he was murdered for opposing the logging.
Now more than 20 years later Mutang hears news from Radio Free Sarawak that forces him to face his fears and return to the country. Mutang learns of Government plans to build 12 Mega Hydropower Dams — one of which will completely drown the valley of his birth. Simultaneously, from their secret location in London, the journalists of the Radio Station, Clare Rewcastle, and DJ Peter Jaban seek to investigate what has happened to the billions of dollars of profits from illegal logging and from Dam building that has taken place during the 33 years that Taib Mahmud has been Chief Minister of the State.
When Mutang witnesses the destruction on the ground he is drawn back into the fold and together with the efforts of Clare and Peter we follow them on an international hunt for the missing money that sets them against the political elite of Malaysia. A whistle-blower in LA gives the team concrete proof of how a major international bank has actively helped Chief Minister Taib Mahmud to purchase properties in the US. Taibs family even own the FBI building in Seattle. The whistle-blower is later found dead in a hotel room with a plastic bag tied around his head. As the investigation launched by the characters gathers momentum, Taib Mahmud unexpectedly announces his resignation as Chief Minister after 33 years in power. As the film draws to a close, Clare Rewcastle uncovers evidence of even greater corruption.
The film is produced by AMP film and co-produced with Truth Department, Bökamp & Kriegsheim, Red Rebel Films and Film Sant & Usant with the support of SVT, SFI, DR2, DFI, NRK, NFTVF, IKON, Ffilm Cymru Wales, ZDF Arte, Influence Film Foundation, Fritt Ord, Creative Europe MEDIA Programm of the European Union, PMA Worldview and BERTHA/Britdoc.
For information/reservation for our events please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com
NB: The screening is free, but donations are welcome.
Organizer:
SEA Junction, OUR Venue to Connect on Southeast Asia (see https://seajunction.org) SEA Junction aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions –from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium) SEA junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see seajunction.org and join the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1693055870976440/
