MeToo: the impact of rape culture in the media

beyond the vivid descriptions provided throughout the book by the filmmakers about their hometowns, cities, and personal spaces. The lack of captioning takes away context or any idea of where each picture is taken or situated. The author visited many of the filmmakers’ sets; I would have loved to have an entry into those sets and their careers through an image reflecting the relationships they have with the people around them or with the camera. The bookmademewonderwhat independent filmmakingmeant, because even though the book talks about independent filmmaking, often, in the countries where the support and capital tomake a ‘mainstream industry’has not been the same, independent filmmaking then becomes the ‘mainstream’. It was interesting to note how different filmmakers balance funding, political thought in their art, and staying true to their vision. ShermanOng, for example, believes all art is political‘Migration and the history of migration in the region are important, and from there comes the material for my work.’ At the same time, filmmakers like Thaiddhi and Thu Thu Shein reflect on how people in marginalised groups are often forced to narrate only their stories and be ‘authentic’. The book manages to make the filmmaking scene in Southeast Asia appear small and interconnected by covering, non-hierarchically, the people who pioneer film festivals and the people who participate in those festivals in one story. After reading all 27 interviews and exploring each filmmaker’s story, I found myself returning to the introduction to situate each within their region and connect them back. The book serves as a great primer into independent filmmaking in Southeast Asia not only because of the impressive constellation of artists we are introduced to, but also because of how effectively these stories are told by Meissner and the storytellers who are featured.