“GADOH" - A Film of Hope in the Struggle Against Racism

Gadoh is a 90-minute feature film about Malaysian secondary school students living under the shadow of discrimination. It is directed by Brenda Danker and Namron, both seasoned social film-makers. Produced by KOMAS, a Malaysian human rights organisation promoting the rights of grassroots communities through the use of popular communications media tools, Gadoh aims to spread awareness on racism and non-discrimination issues in Malaysian society.

The film depicts conflicts among young people from different races and how they all end up losing., but also shows there is still hope in stopping this mindless antagonism. Co-director and lead actor of Gadoh, Namron could identify with the film. He shared that during his schooling days, fights would often break out among students of different races for the simplest of reasons. “Accidentally bumping shoulders would be enough to ignite a fight,” Namron recalled. “In most cases, these racist sentiments start at home where young people are exposed to discriminatory attitudes towards other races. These children are planted with reasons to despise each other and this hatred is reflected by unnecessary fighting in their schools,” he added.

Gadoh will be premiering at HELP University College on 22 May 2009. There will be a public screening at 5pm, followed by the official screening at 8pm. Aside from the film, KOMAS will also be launching a nationwide campaign together with t-shirts, stickers, posters, and buttons with the message “Aku Bangsa Malaysia” as its tagline.

Check this out for more information and to watch the trailer.