ABSTRACT
With the “May 13, 1969” incident as a focal point, this talk examines mediatic responses to racialized Cold War histories in two films by Lau Kek Huat – Absent Without Leave (2016) and The Tree Remembers (2019) – and considers how these histories haunt the trees and textures of relational possibilities within contemporary Malaysia.
SPEAKER
Dr. Elizabeth Wijaya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Studies and Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on global Chinese cinemas, contemporary Southeast Asian cinemas, and continental philosophy. She co-produced Mongrel (Directors’ Fortnight, awarded the Caméra d’Or Special Mention, Cannes Film Festival 2024). She is Associate Producer for Viet and Nam (Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2024) and Associate Producer for Taste (awarded the Special Jury Award at Encounters, Berlinale 2021). She co-founded E&W Films and co-edits World Picture Journal (worldpicturejournal.com).
This talk, with the support of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program; the Dean of Arts; the Associate VP Research, Graduate and Professional Studies; and the Academic VP and Provost, open to all, is part of an ongoing speaker series, titled Aesthetics and Politics, organized by the StFX English Department.
For more information, please contact Conall Cash (@email) or Michael D’Arcy (@email).
