S’pore director misses KIFF screening due to visa issue
Times of India | 10 November 2025
Kolkata: Singapore-based film-maker Jason Soo, who shot footage on the 2018 Gaza Freedom Flotilla to make ‘Al Awda', could not attend its first screening at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival on Saturday because of visa issues.
The director spoke to TOI from Singapore about the events that transpired when the flotilla was under Israeli control and how he returned to the island nation after being strip-searched, interrogated, transported to a prison, and finally deported from Israel. Upon his return, he discovered that one of his memory cards containing footage was missing. Despite this setback, he still had enough footage to complete the film, which is in competition for KIFF's Asian Select (NETPAC award).
"It's a pity I have not been able to attend the festival due to delays in my visa application," Soo told TOI.
The film presents an account of an activist mission and serves as a model for how ordinary people can unite to put solidarity into practice through non-violent action. Among the interviews Soo filmed on board was that of Yonatan Shapira from Israel, a former Blackhawk pilot in the Israeli Air Force.
Fifteen viewers who turned up at the screening clicked photos in front of the screen to show solidarity to the Palestinian cause.
Soo is "very grateful" to KIFF. "It is not only an independent film. It is also a film made with zero budget. I had to rely on my savings to make it. Neither did I imagine that distributing it and getting it screened would be such an uphill task," he said.
"Implicit in the film and in the mission to break the Gaza blockade is that govts have failed to protect the most basic human values. This means the film will not naturally attract support of national organizations or most film production and distribution companies," he said.
"I would say joining the mission opened my eyes about how the legacy of colonialism continues to affect the Global South," he said.