[HOME] the drama
HOME is a short drama about the journey of Burmese refugee Roi Roi’s search for a home in Malaysia.
[HOME] the documentary
Many Burmese refugees seek to flee from the tyranny of the military junta.
Despite surviving a grueling journey across the borders of Thailand and Malaysia, they find themselves victims of human rights abuse and human trafficking in Malaysia. This is a documentary that unveils the heartbreaking stories of Burmese refugees in Malaysia through testimonials of their horrific experiences.
Production Notes by Desiree Lim (filmmaker of HOME)
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I first learned about the severe human rights abuse on Burmese refugees in Malaysia through a magazine article in Japan. I remember feeling shocked by the story, and then angry that the fact that these were one of the most vulnerable groups of people to be exploited in such an inhumane manner. Instead of being granted asylum as refugees, they were being treated by corrupted officials like “commodity in a black market”. Without proper documents to remain in Malaysia, the refugees face constant harassment from members of the local civil police and immigration officers who take advantage of their status by arresting them and threatening them for ransom money in exchange for their release. The refugees are caught in a vicious circle of “catch and release”. Some are even transported to the Thai-Malaysia border in the name of “deportation”, but are in fact sold to human traffickers who would sell them off as slaves to Thai fishing boats and brothels.
THE DOCUMENTARY
Upon learning about this grave issue, I decided that I need to tell this story to the international community. When I reconnected with Mary Chuah whom I have known since we were kids, I found out she has been involved in social intervention work to provide the refugees with protection and support. It is through Mary that I have been able to gain the trust of the refugees to come forward to tell their stories through a documentary. As I begin to document their stories on video, I find myself inspired by the strength and will of the refugees to survive, and the strong faith they seem to have that, despite all the horrors they have had to go through, there is still hope for a better future. Even though they have to live in fear, they choose to continue their struggle for real freedom. Refugees are not victims, they are survivors.
THE DRAMA
I came up with the idea of producing a drama along side with the documentary, because I wanted the refugees to have a chance to be part of the creative process of telling a story, with hopes that this opportunity would turn into a form of empowerment for everyone involved. So I wrote a short script where the protagonist is a Burmese woman looking for a place she can call home.
After many emails and skype exchanges between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur, the audition process for the lead role began in November in KL. With Mary’s help, we were able to hold several auditions in KL and from the number of refugee women who showed up, we could tell many were excited about the opportunity to be part of a project like this. Mary would tape the auditions and send them to Japan for my review. I watched the auditions and shortlisted a few candidates. Two weeks before my journey back to KL to begin production,however, the woman whom I’ve cast for the lead role backed out from the project. She had started to worry about the risk on her safety she would have to face by putting herself in the public eye through a film. So we had to start over with our search for our lead actor.
We started to audition as soon as I arrived in KL. We only had two weeks before the production date. We had to stick to our schedule, since I was only able to secure the schedule of my Director of Photography Albert Hue for a narrow window of time, before he had to dive into another production. So the clock was ticking…. I continued to be surprised by the enthusiasm from the refugee community as many more women showed up at our “emergency” audition. Finally, we were able to cast Roi Roi for the role, and production started on schedule.
It was Roi Roi’s first experience being part of a film production. I later found out from her friend Jo Jo (who was our interpreter for the entire production), that Roi Roi comes from a remote village in the Kachin State where there was no electricity. She has never even seen a TV set before in her life before she came to Malaysia about a year ago. So one can only imagine how big a feat it must have been for Roi Roi to plunge into this unknown world of film production. But Roi Roi was a keen and fast learner. With the help of Jo Jo’s interpretation, we spent a day at my family home going through the script together. Roi Roi was able to get a grasp of the basics of acting very fast, and played the role quite well.
The shoot was done over three days all over KL, and everything went as planned, so it was a relatively smooth shoot. It was my first experience shooting a drama in my hometown, and I’m grateful for all the production support from Mary and her friends, as well as my DP Albert. I feel that this project was able to bring together a team of people whose time and efforts have been put to an important and just cause to give voice to the plight of refugees in Malaysia. And I am very proud to be part of that. It is my hope we will find more allies who would come forward to help us get this film out there - for the refugees' voices to be heard. Everyone deserves to have a place called home.
HOME is a short drama about the journey of Burmese refugee Roi Roi’s search for a home in Malaysia.
[HOME] the documentary
Many Burmese refugees seek to flee from the tyranny of the military junta.
Despite surviving a grueling journey across the borders of Thailand and Malaysia, they find themselves victims of human rights abuse and human trafficking in Malaysia. This is a documentary that unveils the heartbreaking stories of Burmese refugees in Malaysia through testimonials of their horrific experiences.
Production Notes by Desiree Lim (filmmaker of HOME)
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I first learned about the severe human rights abuse on Burmese refugees in Malaysia through a magazine article in Japan. I remember feeling shocked by the story, and then angry that the fact that these were one of the most vulnerable groups of people to be exploited in such an inhumane manner. Instead of being granted asylum as refugees, they were being treated by corrupted officials like “commodity in a black market”. Without proper documents to remain in Malaysia, the refugees face constant harassment from members of the local civil police and immigration officers who take advantage of their status by arresting them and threatening them for ransom money in exchange for their release. The refugees are caught in a vicious circle of “catch and release”. Some are even transported to the Thai-Malaysia border in the name of “deportation”, but are in fact sold to human traffickers who would sell them off as slaves to Thai fishing boats and brothels.
THE DOCUMENTARY
Upon learning about this grave issue, I decided that I need to tell this story to the international community. When I reconnected with Mary Chuah whom I have known since we were kids, I found out she has been involved in social intervention work to provide the refugees with protection and support. It is through Mary that I have been able to gain the trust of the refugees to come forward to tell their stories through a documentary. As I begin to document their stories on video, I find myself inspired by the strength and will of the refugees to survive, and the strong faith they seem to have that, despite all the horrors they have had to go through, there is still hope for a better future. Even though they have to live in fear, they choose to continue their struggle for real freedom. Refugees are not victims, they are survivors.
THE DRAMA
I came up with the idea of producing a drama along side with the documentary, because I wanted the refugees to have a chance to be part of the creative process of telling a story, with hopes that this opportunity would turn into a form of empowerment for everyone involved. So I wrote a short script where the protagonist is a Burmese woman looking for a place she can call home.
After many emails and skype exchanges between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur, the audition process for the lead role began in November in KL. With Mary’s help, we were able to hold several auditions in KL and from the number of refugee women who showed up, we could tell many were excited about the opportunity to be part of a project like this. Mary would tape the auditions and send them to Japan for my review. I watched the auditions and shortlisted a few candidates. Two weeks before my journey back to KL to begin production,however, the woman whom I’ve cast for the lead role backed out from the project. She had started to worry about the risk on her safety she would have to face by putting herself in the public eye through a film. So we had to start over with our search for our lead actor.
We started to audition as soon as I arrived in KL. We only had two weeks before the production date. We had to stick to our schedule, since I was only able to secure the schedule of my Director of Photography Albert Hue for a narrow window of time, before he had to dive into another production. So the clock was ticking…. I continued to be surprised by the enthusiasm from the refugee community as many more women showed up at our “emergency” audition. Finally, we were able to cast Roi Roi for the role, and production started on schedule.
It was Roi Roi’s first experience being part of a film production. I later found out from her friend Jo Jo (who was our interpreter for the entire production), that Roi Roi comes from a remote village in the Kachin State where there was no electricity. She has never even seen a TV set before in her life before she came to Malaysia about a year ago. So one can only imagine how big a feat it must have been for Roi Roi to plunge into this unknown world of film production. But Roi Roi was a keen and fast learner. With the help of Jo Jo’s interpretation, we spent a day at my family home going through the script together. Roi Roi was able to get a grasp of the basics of acting very fast, and played the role quite well.
The shoot was done over three days all over KL, and everything went as planned, so it was a relatively smooth shoot. It was my first experience shooting a drama in my hometown, and I’m grateful for all the production support from Mary and her friends, as well as my DP Albert. I feel that this project was able to bring together a team of people whose time and efforts have been put to an important and just cause to give voice to the plight of refugees in Malaysia. And I am very proud to be part of that. It is my hope we will find more allies who would come forward to help us get this film out there - for the refugees' voices to be heard. Everyone deserves to have a place called home.
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