KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 ― The makers of the award-winning movie Absent Without Leave, which was banned here due to communist overtones, will make it available to local viewers without charge.
Producers Hummingbird Production said it decided to show the movie online after it was unable to secure approval from local authorities to screen the story set during the Communist Insurgency.
“It's still forbidden to screen the film in Malaysian cinemas. So we decided to make the film available for free on Internet ― only for Malaysian audience ― in the week from February 28th to March 5th 2017,” the firm wrote on Facebook.
The movie link will be made available via a Facebook event.
Absent Without Leave is directed by Sitiawan-born Lau Kek Huat and recounts the story of his grandfather's experiences during the insurgency.
The movie took five years to make and cost Lau over RM80,000.
It has been shown in several film festivals around the world including South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, where it won the Singapore International Film Festival’s Audience Award.
