Japanese director Shiori Ito and Indonesian advocate Kamala Chandrakirana are headlining the Singapore Writers Festival to showcase how narrative platforms confront sexual misconduct. Ito exposed legal opacity in Japan after publicizing her 2015 assault allegations against prominent journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi in her book and documentary. In Indonesia, Chandrakirana documented dozens of sexual assaults during the May 1998 riots despite official state denials. Her volunteer documentation directly contributed to the founding of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, which she later led.
Key points
Storytelling and documentary work can effectively expose institutional opacity and counte…: Storytelling and documentary work can effectively expose institutional opacity and counter official denials surrounding sexual assault.
Documenting survivor experiences provides crucial evidence needed to establish formal nat…: Documenting survivor experiences provides crucial evidence needed to establish formal national human rights bodies.
The Singapore Writers Festival is utilizing panel discussions and film screenings to exam…: The Singapore Writers Festival is utilizing panel discussions and film screenings to examine the role of investigative truth-seeking.
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Japanese filmmaker Shiori Ito spoke out about her sexual assault, while Indonesian human rights activist Kamala Chandrakirana documented assaults that authorities had denied. The Singapore Writers Festival 2026 headliners discuss the power of storytelling in exposing injustice.
The Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) kicks off on Friday (Nov 13) with two headliners: award-winning Japanese filmmaker Shiori Ito and Indonesian human rights activist Kamala Chandrakirana.
Through storytelling, both women challenge the systems that perpetuate violence against women and amplify the voices of survivors.
Ito, 37, publicly pursued justice after accusing prominent Japanese journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi of raping her in 2015. She recounted her harrowing experience in her 2017 book Black Box, a reference to the opaque justice system that leaves sexual assault survivors struggling for answers and accountability.
She later chronicled her fight for justice in her Japanese and English documentary Black Box Diaries, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards.
Chandrakirana, 66, documented accounts of sexual violence committed during Indonesia's May 1998 riots, work that helped establish the country's National Commission on Violence Against Women,…
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