In 2007, I caught a documentary short called Twelve 11 by Loh Yin San and Claudia Theophilus about the Highland Towers tragedy. Immediately after that, I wrote:
At the 3:19 minute mark of this video that I shot during the screening, you can see me discussing with Loh Yin San about uploading her work on Youtube for the sake of helping more people gain awareness about the problems recorded in her documentary.
And that was it.
In 2009, surprisingly, I received an email from Loh Yin San thanking me for what I wrote in my blog and asking me how one could rip and compress the video data from a DVD and then upload it online. So I replied with a fairly detailed email giving her a list of softwares and instructions on how she could do this. I said that once she was done, just inform me and I would tell my friends about her film.
She thanked me and told me that she was working on something else. She also said that hopefully we could keep in touch and catch up after Chinese New Year if I were to return from Tokyo. I said yes.
We never did. Those were our last emails to each other.
Almost exactly four years have passed since then.
It was only just now that I found out Loh Yin San had died of cancer last month.
And also, through a cruel twist of fate, Claudia Theophilus, the co-director of TWELVE 11, passed away a few weeks later. She was killed in Lebanon while on holiday with two friends. It was a firearm accident.
I wasn't aware that TWELVE 11 was already uploaded onto Vimeo Komas two years ago. I would like to honour what I promised Loh Yin San back then. Please share this too.
Rest in peace. Loh Yin San, Claudia Theophilus.
Twelve 11 from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.
Winner of 2006 FreedomFilmFest (FFF) human rights film competition organised by KOMAS, a human rights organisation based in Malaysia. For more FFF winning films, info on buying a dvd, or permission to screen, go to http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org
Director/Pengarah: Loh Yin San & Claudia Theophilus
Produced by KOMAS
Duration/Tempoh : 20 minutes
Language/Bahasa : English
Subtitles/Sarikata : English & BM
Local authority's negligence or the act of God? This groundbreaking documentary seeks to expose the truth behind the controversial Highland Towers tragedy.
A tragedy of a magnitude never before seen in Malaysia had claimed 48 lives and shocked a nation. In unraveling the mystery surrounding the incident, Twelve 11 questions whether the loss of life and property could have been avoided. The aim is also to expose a legal loophole that begs urgent action in the call for justice.
Twelve 11 won 'The Most Outstanding Human Rights Film' for FFF 2006.
"I was truly enthralled by the events documented by TWELVE 11 (a rarity, frankly), and was actually hoping that Loh Yin San would post her works on Youtube or somewhere just so that it could gain a much wider audience beyond festival circuits as she has had some difficulties trying to get TV stations to broadcast the documentary. I personally would try to help her spread the film around."
At the 3:19 minute mark of this video that I shot during the screening, you can see me discussing with Loh Yin San about uploading her work on Youtube for the sake of helping more people gain awareness about the problems recorded in her documentary.
And that was it.
In 2009, surprisingly, I received an email from Loh Yin San thanking me for what I wrote in my blog and asking me how one could rip and compress the video data from a DVD and then upload it online. So I replied with a fairly detailed email giving her a list of softwares and instructions on how she could do this. I said that once she was done, just inform me and I would tell my friends about her film.
She thanked me and told me that she was working on something else. She also said that hopefully we could keep in touch and catch up after Chinese New Year if I were to return from Tokyo. I said yes.
We never did. Those were our last emails to each other.
Almost exactly four years have passed since then.
It was only just now that I found out Loh Yin San had died of cancer last month.
And also, through a cruel twist of fate, Claudia Theophilus, the co-director of TWELVE 11, passed away a few weeks later. She was killed in Lebanon while on holiday with two friends. It was a firearm accident.
I wasn't aware that TWELVE 11 was already uploaded onto Vimeo Komas two years ago. I would like to honour what I promised Loh Yin San back then. Please share this too.
Rest in peace. Loh Yin San, Claudia Theophilus.
Winner of 2006 FreedomFilmFest (FFF) human rights film competition organised by KOMAS, a human rights organisation based in Malaysia. For more FFF winning films, info on buying a dvd, or permission to screen, go to http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org
Director/Pengarah: Loh Yin San & Claudia Theophilus
Produced by KOMAS
Duration/Tempoh : 20 minutes
Language/Bahasa : English
Subtitles/Sarikata : English & BM
Local authority's negligence or the act of God? This groundbreaking documentary seeks to expose the truth behind the controversial Highland Towers tragedy.
A tragedy of a magnitude never before seen in Malaysia had claimed 48 lives and shocked a nation. In unraveling the mystery surrounding the incident, Twelve 11 questions whether the loss of life and property could have been avoided. The aim is also to expose a legal loophole that begs urgent action in the call for justice.
Twelve 11 won 'The Most Outstanding Human Rights Film' for FFF 2006.
