Queer as Punk (2025)

Chen Yihwen | Malaysia, Indonesia | 2025 | 88 min | Rating To Be Advised Openly queer punk-rock band Shh… Diam! turns up their music against rising conservatism and political upheaval in Malaysia. Since meeting at a pool party in 2009, Faris, Yon and Yoyo have become a household name for their daring and snarky anthems celebrating queer desire and rage. Just as Faris begins his gender transition, Yon prepares to welcome a child and Yoyo considers migration, Malaysia escalates its rhetoric on purity and begins enacting corporal punishment on LGBTQ individuals. Through it all, the trio endeavours to continue their song. Queer as Punk is a frank and immersive look at the private lives of the Shh… Diam (Malay for “keep quiet”) members on their world tour. More than a document of the times, the documentary elucidates and affirms the choice to leave for safety, or stay to continue resisting.