People's Film Archive of Malaysia; Arkib Filem Rakyat;

Overview

Arkib Filem Rakyat (People's Film Archive) is Malaysia's only archive dedicated to preserving the history of the country's social movements through film and video footage. It holds more than 2,100 hours of digitized footage documenting civil society activism, human rights struggles, and community organizing in Malaysia over three decades.

History and Founding

The archive emerged from approximately 29 years of grassroots documentary work by a network of activists associated with the Freedom Film Network (Pertubuhan Perfileman Sosial Malaysia), a non-profit society dedicated to social justice and human rights filmmaking. The archive project was formally initiated in 2020, and its online catalogue was publicly launched in September 2022 at the Freedom Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur. The launch was presided over by Dr. Markus Litz, director of Goethe-Institut Malaysia. In 2022, Arkib Filem Rakyat received the SEAPAVAA (South East Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association) Award for Best Archival Project in the Region.

Collections and Holdings

The archive contains raw footage and completed films relating to activism and social movements, covering topics not typically represented in mainstream Malaysian media or official historical narratives. Its stated aim is to provide an alternative perspective on the people's history, identity, and nation-building. The collection is the only human rights film footage archive in Malaysia and represents an ongoing effort to preserve and document historical audiovisual materials from multiple sources nationwide.

Access

The online catalogue is accessible at arkibfilemrakyat.org. The archive is operated by the Freedom Film Network, headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, with collection materials stored offsite.