Southeast Asia’s largest literary event was opened by respected actor and director Slamet Rahardjo.

“Honestly, without reading literary works, it would be impossible for me to be an actor and director. Thank you for reminding us that we are here together, there is no separation or borders between us,” he said in the opening speech.

Following the opening speech, a dance performance choreographed by Wayan Sudirana, one of Ubud’s most talented young artists, was performed to entertain the crowd.

Drawing inspiration from the island’s iconic vocal theater kecak and the sacred sanghyang dance, the performance was a delightful repertoire punctuated with dynamic gamelan composition. 

It portrayed the spirit of solidarity that permeates the daily life of the Balinese, a true testament to the value of “Tat Tvam Asi” (I am you, you are me), the main theme of the annual festival.

In a session with journalists on Wednesday afternoon, some of the festival’s luminaries shared with the audience a glimpse of their inspiring stories that they will present during the festival’s sessions. 

Among them was Suki Kim, a Korean-American novelist and journalist who is the only writer to ever go undercover in North Korea for investigative coverage. She shared her remarkable story of going undercover in the country. Posing as a missionary and a teacher, she taught English to children of North Korea’s ruling class. 

When her story came out, she had no choice when the publisher decided that it had to be made into a memoir, which disappointed her. 

“Why America failed to see that I was an investigative journalist. My work was systematically undermined and not eligible for any award. People see the story as a lie, not undercover work,” she said about her experience of being treated unfairly, wondering whether this was also an issue of gender and race. 

(Read also: By letting camera roll, film gives rare view of North Korea)

Facing almost the same injustice is Chinese-Canadian award-winning actress and human rights advocate Anastasia Lin, who was also present at the session. 

Last year, she was set to represent Canada at the Miss World Pageant in China, but was denied a visa and declared persona non grata by Chinese authorities for being outspoken against Chinese authorities about human rights violations and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. 

Under this year’s theme, the festival is set to challenge the existing cultural borders or limits found in every culture. 

The festival will dissect issues of identity, injustice and inclusion with speakers from Indonesia and abroad set to explore borders and push the envelope of existing limits.

Representing Indonesia at the opening session was young award-winning filmmaker Wregas Bhanuteja, whose film Prenjak (In the Year of the Monkey) was awarded the Leica Cine Discovery Prize for Short Film at Semaine de la Critique, Cannes Film Festival in May this year.

(Read also: Meet the man behind Indonesia’s first-ever Cannes prize)

“Art is about exploring the medium, and thanks to the advancement of technology, we can create films. Technology opens opportunities to create new forms of art, but the most essential thing is to understand the root of the art itself,” he said.    

The presence of Wregas signals that this year’s festival will feature a collaboration of literature, music and films in its exciting events. 

Highlights in Thursday’s session will include live music and arts in Poetronica,an exclusive lyrical, multilayered performance, where writers and musicians will interact to create a one-of-a-kind poetry- meets-electronica experience.

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