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Two Indonesian films win special mention awards in Singapore
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Bayu Prihantoro Filemon (middle), director of 'On the Origin of Fear', receives a special mention award in the short film section of the Singapore International Film Festival on Dec. 3. (27th Singapore International Film Festival/Bonnie Yap)
Two Indonesian films received special mentions at the 27th Singapore International Film Festival on Saturday.
Turah, a debut feature film by Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, was granted an award at the Asian Feature Film Competition section, while On the Origin of Fear, the directorial debut of Bayu Prihantoro Filemon, gained recognition in the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition section.
“It feels as if my proposal has been accepted by my significant other. This [accomplishment] is from Tegal to the world,” Wisnu said about his film that was shot in Tegal, Central Java.
(Read also: East Nusa Tenggara documentary highlights challenging marriage traditions)
Meanwhile, Bayu commented, “This award serves as a mark that Indonesian films, especially [films from] Yogyakarta, have gained more acceptance by the Southeast Asian audience," adding that the special mention award would inspire and challenge him to create more works that speak about the things around him.
The 79-minute Turah tells a fictional story about oppressed people from the Tirang village who barely earn enough to fulfill their basic needs but never question how the village is governed. One day, Jadag, an alcoholic, accuses the leaders of being unjust, which leads to a chaotic situation.
The film, which was inspired by real events, was given a special mention by the jury panel for its “exposure of the corruption and hypocrisy inherent in our society through the microcosm of a small village, showing how the strong oppresses the weak, while never losing sight of the inherent humanity in all its characters”.
(Read also: 'Prenjak' wins another international award in Singapore)
Meanwhile, On the Origin of Fear received a special mention award for its “existential exploration on the evils of humanity”. The 13-minute film takes place in a recording studio, showing how a soldier takes both the role of victim and aggressor in a scripted anti-communist campaign. Bayu told The Jakarta Post that he was inspired to create the movie due to his own traumatic experience when watching an anticommunist film when he was a child.
The winners were announced during the Silver Screen Awards of the event, which is part of the Singapore Media Festival 2016, which is slated to run until Dec. 9. (kes)
