TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
To forgive and not forget
Eleven filmmakers have come together to make "9808", an anthology of short films commemorating the 10th anniversary of the May 1998 incident
Change Size
Eleven filmmakers have come together to make "9808", an anthology of short films commemorating the 10th anniversary of the May 1998 incident.
To Indonesians, the May 1998 incident -- in which riots broke out in Jakarta, leading to the murder and rape of hundreds of Chinese women, as well as to the fall of Soeharto -- may have the same wattage as the 9/11 tragedy.
Lives were lost in order to shed light on national skeletons and questionable government policies, giving way to a new zeitgeist, which we proudly refer to as the Reform.
The time is right then -- reminiscent of the 2002 film 11'09"01-September Eleven, in which 11 international filmmakers compiled a collection of short films related to the tragedy -- for Indonesian filmmakers to team up to make 9808, an anthology of shorts to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the May 1998 incident.
The idea for this project was initiated last September in a discussion between three filmmakers: award-winning screenwriter Prima Rusdi, acclaimed short film director Edwin, and prominent video artist Hafiz.
As quoted from their website, the project is expected to initiate a dialogue within the public, especially among students, in an attempt to empower the public to address issues and to speak up through the audio-visual medium.
"We have no intention of reopening old wounds. We just would like to have an idea of how we perceive (May 1998) as a moment," explained Edwin.
They extended invitations to a bunch of filmmakers. Those on board were provided with a simple brief, and the filmmakers were given full creative liberty. Each is responsible for his or her own film, including the funding.
"We just provided the big concept and some help, if needed," said Prima, who managed to get senior editor Sastha Sunu and composer Thoersi Argeswara to help with some final editing and scoring work.
They were delighted at how quickly the filmmakers responded to their invitations. One of them even submitted her finished film not more than two weeks after getting the brief.
The result is 11 short films, each offering a unique interpretation of the May '98 incident and its impact on the people after 10 years. These shorts, Prima hoped, complement each other in conveying one collective statement. What is interesting is that none of the films get really political. Instead, they translate the political context into some deeply personal accounts.
"The films focus more on ordinary people, who in one way or another were affected by the incident," observed Prima.
This transformation from the political to the personal is probably best depicted in Wisnu Suryapratama's Kucing 9808, Catatan Seorang (Mantan) Demonstran (Chronicles of a (former) Demonstrator). Wisnu, who in 1998 was a keen activist in the student movement, scrutinizes himself 10 years later; now a husband and a father, caught up in mundane routines and questioning whether the demonstrator in him still exists.
Another side of a student activist's life, or in this case, his lack thereof, is explored in Ucu Agustin's documentary Yang Belum Usai (The Endless Path), in which the mother of a student demonstrator who was killed in a shooting incident is still looking for justice 10 years on.
A slightly different take on student activism is offered by Steven Pillar Setiabudi's sharp and daring doco Sekolah Kami, Hidup Kami (Our School, Our Lives).
A group of high school students in Solo formed an underground organization to collect evidence and demonstrate against their corrupt principal. The film is astonishing proof of how a situation not unlike the May '98 incident continues to repeat itself 10 years later, on a much more grass-roots level; and how people as young as in their high school years are already fighting to make a difference.
The film is charmingly optimistic, yet at the same time closes on a note of pessimism, when the kids refuse to have a future in politics and question whether this kind of idealism will survive once they become a part of the establishment.
Anggun Priambodo presents multiple personal views on May 1998, with Di Mana Saya? (Where Was I?), as he takes us through photo slide shows and interviews with people about what they were doing at the time of the incident.
His film shows how the tragedy reverberates way beyond the country. "Indonesians living abroad were also affected, some of them even held a demonstration of their own," said Anggun.
Undeniably, May 1998 also had a huge impact on the Indonesian ethnic-Chinese community, and the messages addressing this issue are various in so many different levels. Edwin's lyrical A Trip to the Wound treats the tragedy as a wound, but not necessarily a bad thing.
"If you can still feel your wound, that means you are still human," he said.
Ifa Isfansyah's Happiness Morning Light is a bittersweet tale of a woman whose mother was killed in a riot, who is trying to escape the pain and finds happiness in the most unlikely place. Herman Kumala Panca's harrowing Televisi (Television) chronicles his personal experiences at the age of 10, when he had to protect his mother when an anti-Chinese riot broke out in Medan. Ariani Darmawan's tongue-in-cheek Sugiharti Halim presents the irony in the hassle of having to "Indonesianize" your Chinese name.
The change of reigning power instigated by the May incident also resulted in the Chinese New Year (Imlek) being recognized as a public holiday. Lucky Kuswandi ponders the impact of this policy, and of Imlek itself, in his film A Letter of Unprotected Memories.
"On one hand it's an acknowledgement or perhaps an apology. It's a good thing, but at the same time, I hardly feel any change. It's just another day off for me," he mused.
He also sees his film as an analysis of the Chinese tradition and of the community itself. Imlek comes with a set of traditional rules and customs, many of which his generation can no longer relate to.
"I made this film to express my feelings, and also as my way of understanding Imlek," he concluded.
"Since May 1998, we have come to embrace the Chinese culture, but still in very artificial ways. It makes so much difference to have people coming from the background to take us right into their issues and real problems," said Prima.
"The films in the anthology reflect how the May incident is still relevant even after 10 years. They go to show that now people are willing to identify and confront their problems, instead of accepting things the way they are," explained Edwin, to which Prima added, "But it's just the first chapter of a massive undertaking, so it will continue to have relevance for a long time to come."
That is why the people behind the film specially requested that each screening be accompanied by a discussion session.
"What we really need is audience responses. We hope this project has enough layers to garner responses from people of various backgrounds," Prima said.
She closed on a note that, surprisingly, none of the films exude anger in their tone. Perhaps, 10 years after the incident, it is time to forgive, but it is just as important not to forget.
The first screenings of "9808" will be held at Kineforum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, from 13 to 20 May 2008. The films will then be shown in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Semarang. Log on to http://9808films.wordpress.com for further info.
