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We are in dire need for more good writers: Ernest Prakasa
Although it seems like he has strayed away from the limelight of the stand-up comedy stage, Ernest Prakasa has soared in his acting and directing career.
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Ernest Prakasa speaks during a trailer for his movie 'Cek Toko Sebelah' (2016). Ernest began his directing career in the film 'Ngenest: Kadang Hidup Perlu Ditertawakan' (2015). (Ernest Prakasa's YouTube/File)
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lthough it seems like he has strayed away from the limelight of the stand-up comedy stage, Ernest Prakasa has soared in his acting and directing career. He debuted as a director in the movie Ngenest: Kadang Hidup Perlu Ditertawakan (2015), originally having wanted to just write the script.
“I wanted to write [the script] for it, but Chand Parwez Servia convinced me that I should try directing it myself,” he said. Ernest ended up acting in the movie, and despite a release date that collided with Raditya Dika’s film Single and Hollywood blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ngenest managed to garner approximately 550 thousand viewers in just 12 days after its release.
Since its premiere last December, Ernest’s newest feature film Cek Toko Sebelah (Check the Store Next Door, abbreviated as CTS) has shown its own success by garnering more than 2.5 million viewers, landing it on the 10th spot of the most watched Indonesian films of all-time.
Read also: Cek Toko Sebelah has a lot in store
In addressing his absence from the local stand-up scene, Ernest likened Indonesia to Hollywood. “When the stand-up scene got bigger, the comics drew movie producers’ interests. Nothing weird, really. It’s just like in Hollywood,” he told The Jakarta Post via email.
Ernest, who directed and starred in CTS, said the movie was not really based on his personal experiences, with the exception of the shop. “My mom has run a similar shop since 1985,” he said.
As an up-and-coming public figure of Chinese descent in Indonesia, amid racial issues that have been brewing in society, Ernest said he was living a normal life without too much racial harassment, “Nowadays, not really. I'm living quite a normal life in terms of racial discrimination, compared to how it was in the 90s.”
Unlike other artists who are seeking to expand their careers to the global stage, Ernest was not in a hurry to leave the country. “I still have many plans in Indonesia. Next, you will see me trying hard to cultivate new writers. We are in dire need for more good writers [in film],” he stated. (asw)
