Lisabona Rachman, Contributor, Jakarta
Short films have been growing rapidly in Indonesia in the last six years, at least in terms of the number of films released.
According to short film communities like Yayasan Konfiden, short film production soared from below 20 per year in 2000 to over 300 since 2002.
Since 2002 several private televisions here have hosted short film competitions for fiction and documentaries. The interest of media like television also seems to have provided more space to access short films and encourage many to create short films.
Growing interest is not only shown in production, but also in terms of public response to film events. A festival organized by Konfiden last week, for example, managed to attract around 4,500 people during the one week event.
And, film enthusiasts here are poised to get another treat with the upcoming Southeast Asian short film competition beginning on Nov. 22. Titled Slingshortfest, after children's toy slingshot, the festival will be the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region.
""There hasn't been an exclusive event for short film competition in this region. Short film has always been attached to a bigger festival around the region,"" says Paul F. Agusta, director of Slingshortfest.
Funded by the Netherlands-based Prince Claus Foundation, the fair is planned to be held annually in Jakarta, while possible touring the Southeast Asian region at a later stage.
Initially built out of personal contacts between film makers in the region, the network has slowly felt the need to have a forum where an intercultural dialog in the region can take place. ""So far we have always been in contact with each other when we go to festivals in Pusan or half way across the globe. It's strange that although we feel that we have a lot in common, we never actually come together to exchange thoughts about how we see ourselves,"" says Slingshortfest programmer Prima Rusdi.
Issues brought up in the works of young Southeast Asian film makers show their critical commentary about life in the region with common history but very culturally diverse at the same time.
""For the first time I realized that we've only been connected either through regional news brought by the media, or through official inter-governmental relations. Watching these films provides so many new perspectives about what generally young people in Southeast Asia are going through. The region is no longer only exotic paradise as depicted in tourist brochures, but a place where there are emerging new talents and critical young people eager to share their life stories,"" Rusdi says.
Films submitted for the Slingshortfest will compete for 1,000 euro in prize money for categories of best fiction, best documentary and best animation films.
Films submitted for the Konfiden festival will also participate in the event.
The Konfiden festival started out as a community of short film makers and enthusiasts establishing networks among film producers and building a database. This network met in self-organized screenings which later developed into a short film festival in 2002.
""It's been overwhelming to see the growing passion for short films. We started our festival four years ago to encourage film makers to exhibit their works. And now we have taken a step further to create competition because there are so many short films being made and shown, and now is the time to see how far we've gone in each event,"" says Alex Sihar, director of Konfiden Short Film Festival.
Konfiden festival received over 200 entries and selected 82 films for their program. The program interestingly consisted of many films in different languages from various regions in Indonesia and provides so many insights into people's daily lives in each place. New film production sites like Tegal, Purbalingga and Purwokerto, which was unheard of before in the film-making scene, featured very strongly in the entries.
Best Fiction film of this year's Konfiden festival went to Yogyakarta-based director Ifa Isfansyah's Harap Tenang Ada Ujian (Silence Please, There's an Exam). The film talks about people's misunderstanding toward Japanese volunteers who came to Yogyakarta following the May 27 earthquake. Best Documentary award went to another Yogyakarta-based film makers Yuli Andari and Anton Susilo with their Joki Kecil (Little Jockey). The film delves into the lives of child jockeys in wild horse racing in Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara province.
An overall view of the festival programs interestingly shows a shift in film makers' attitude toward their surroundings.
Sihar noted that many of the films submitted for this year's festival tackled issues previously considered taboo in the country's film industry, including political issues like the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib and general issues like a young girl's confusion about her religion.
""This year's program shows that there are more people who are beginning to use film again as a media for political expression. And it is told in so many different ways, not just outright campaign films. I also see that a lot of film makers starting to consider women's issues important, just like the trends in so many other festivals around the world today,"" says Sihar.
Slingshortfest festival will run from Nov. 22 to 26. Further information on schedules and venues is available at http://www.slingshortfest.com/
