Newsletter

July 24, 2023

Welcome to the latest edition of the Cinemata Newsletter! This edition highlights new features on Cinemata, bringing an enhanced platform experience for trusted users, plus a celebration of LGBTQIA+ narratives through a partnership with a documentary student organisation in the Philippines. Dive into the latest episode of Pretty Good Podcast and more social issue films.

This newsletter is a celebration of diverse stories, the power of media, and our collective commitment to fostering a world of acceptance and compassion. Stay connected for more updates, events, and community initiatives.

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CINEMATA SITE UPDATES

Enhanced features for subtitle downloads, batch video upload now available for trusted users

Screenshot of Cinemata's built-in Edit Subtitle functionality

Cinemata Trusted Users can now enjoy more features to help them quickly share their social issue films to wider audiences and increase their impact. Last month, Cinemata rolled out automated local language transcription and English translations on the platform. Using the built-in edit function, trusted users now have the ability to download the generated subtitles for use in video players such as VLC or social media websites. The subtitles are available for download in the WebVTT format, a modern captioning format that supports text styling. Like the older SRT file format, WebVTT can be used in video editing software and websites.

Multiple file uploads in Cinemata uploader

Another new feature in the updated release of Cinemata is batch uploading of multiple videos. Users simply drag files into the uploader or select these via the file browser, and an upload progress bar will appear for each file. With this feature, community media groups, film festival programmers, and social issue filmmakers can easily share and archive their works, enabling them to quickly broadcast their videos to target audiences.

Maximise these new features by being a Cinemata Trusted User. Trusted Users are committed to the site's editorial policy and can publish their videos immediately without undergoing reviews by site moderators. Cinemata's Trusted Users include Freedom Film Network, Gawad Alternatibo, Mini Film Festival, AlterMidya Network, Maritime Union of Australia, and 40 others. Application for Trusted User access is free. Contact us to enjoy Cinemata's premium features.

CINEMATA PARTNERSHIPS

Cinemata partners with MULAT Documentary Guild to celebrate queer documentaries on screen

Cinemata is an official media partner of MULAT Documentary Guild’s ‘RamPelikula: Celebrating Queer Docu on Screen’, with the theme "A Cinematic Celebration of Empowerment and Inclusivity". The event, held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines' College of Communication on July 17, aimed to promote love, gender, and inclusivity, with a focus on empowering narratives and acceptance within the LGBTQIA+ community.

The main highlight of the initiative was the film screening of Tulipa, a powerful documentary directed by Rhadem Musawah, which explores the lives of Filipino LGBTQIA+ migrants who sought life outside the Philippines to assert their rights to gender equality.

Organisers: MULAT Documentary Guild

Country: Philippines

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CINEMATA FEATURES

Herwin Cabasal

‘Cinemata Features’ is a series highlighting film practitioners in the Asia-Pacific – filmmakers, film groups, curators, critics, and archivists – who create and disseminate social and environmental issue films in the region.

This eighth feature spotlights Herwin Cabasal, an advocacy filmmaker and the chair of the Department of Communication at Far Eastern University in the Philippines. He shares his film studies journey and how he supports young filmmakers in using the visual medium for social issue advocacy.

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FEATURED FILMS

'PGP Live at DRAPAC23: Numun Fund'

In this episode of PGP Live at DRAPAC23, Numun Fund’s Information and Knowledge Systems Choreographer Syar S. Alia delves into the organisation's exploration of feminist tech and prioritising equitable, accessible, and safe technology for all.

Pretty Good Podcast Live at DRAPAC23 is a special episode series of Pretty Good Podcast, recorded live at the Digital Rights Asia Pacific Assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last May 22 to 26, 2023.

Organisation: EngageMedia

Region: Asia-Pacific

WATCH THE VIDEO PODCAST

Check out the accompanying blog post that provides additional references and relevant links to this podcast episode.

'Don't Touch the Bay-ags'

Following the New Year's Eve celebration of the Bay-ag family, COVID-19 symptoms emerge, causing panic. The men of the household take on the daily chores, resulting in chaos.

Dont Touch The Bay-ags humorously explores the gender roles in a Filipino family during the pandemic. The film was awarded Honorable Mention for the Short Fiction Category of the 34th Gawad Alternatibo by the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Director: Allyssa Marielle S. Garcia

Country: Philippines

WATCH THE FILM

'Uncovering Data Injustice'

Data-driven technologies have changed the way people live and move in the world, but the human impact is far from universally positive, and the voices of those directly affected are often unheard.

Producer: The Alan Turing Institute and EngageMedia

Location: International

WATCH THE FILM

This second episode of the "Advancing Data Justice" series sheds light on the impact of data injustice on individuals and communities and the need for equitable and ethical approaches for a more just digital future for all. Watch the first episode, Introducing Data Justice Documentary.

'Closing Dongmaifai Mine: 26 Years of Tears & Two Years of Restoration'

For 28 years, residents of Phachandai in northeastern Thailand protested against the limestone mines in their area. With the concession period having ended and the unsolved killings of four community leaders, the villagers' future is uncertain.

Watch this short documentary from ประชาไท Prachatai as they revisit the village two years after the mine's closure. With the Ministry of Industry claiming jurisdiction over the area, will the villagers successfully restore their communal forest?

Producer: Prachatai

Country: Thailand

WATCH THE FILM

'Stigma'

Watch the music video for Stigma, a satirical exposé of the stigma that people considering abortion in the Philippines continue to face. The song explores the inner critic of women confronting this challenge.

Stigma is one of the 13 tracks in the Pasya Music Album, written and performed by SHNTI. The song is arranged, produced, and mixed by Calix.

Pasya Music Album is part of the decriminalization of abortion campaign in the Philippines that is made possible by the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights in collaboration with Filipino Freethinkers and Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network, and with support from Safe Abortion Action Fund and Abortion Conversation Projects.

(Sensitive content: Concerns abortion)

Producer: Pasya Music Album

Country: Philippines

WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO