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Youths put new spin on old themes
I Wayan Ananta Wijaya , Contributor , Denpasar | Thu, 10/09/2008 10:37 AM | Surfing Bali
High school students take part in a documentary film workshop in Denpasar. Five films submitted by students in Bali will participate in a documentary film festival that is being sponsored by cosmetic company The Bodyshop. (JP/I Wayan Ananta Wijaya)
What happens when a group of teenagers are given video cameras and three worn-out themes?
They return with strong-scripted movies and refreshing takes on the old themes; surprising the very people who gave them the project in the first place.
This was the case with Silviana Dewi and her friends, who are all high school students of SMAN 1 Tabanan. In their documentary titled Nina Bobo Oh Nina Bobo, a phrase borrowed from a well-known Indonesian lullaby, the teenagers explored the theme of HIV/AIDS.
Rather than present the life of individuals infected with the deadly virus or the history of the virus itself, the teens took a different approach.
"The story of HIV/AIDS, particularly on the virus and the disease it causes, has been told too many times," Dewi said.
Instead, Dewi selected an angle she believed had never been touched by other film makers before her.
"I wanted to talk about how boring the *socialization' of the HIV/AIDS is," she said.
"Socialization" is the term commonly used here to represent activities, seminars and panel discussions organized to introduce and educate the public on certain issues.
Such activities often turn into winding, one-way sermons from "experts" who perceive members of the public as a bunch of ignorant, un-informed people.
"So boring was one such activity that I fell asleep in the middle of it," Dewi said.
The experience became the main inspiration for Dewi's documentary.
Meanwhile, in Kejarlah Sahabat (Pursuing Friends), high school students Komang Ayu Lestari and Ni Putu Sri Puspitawati of SMAN 2 Denpasar, explored the theme of domestic violence through the eyes of teenagers who had experienced it.
Surprisingly, their documentary didn't dwell on the violence but on the healing process of the victims.
"It's a true story and the film focuses on the role of friends in assisting victims through the healing process," Lestari said.
Ni Kadek Ria Rahayu and Gayatri, two students from SMAN 1 Sukawati, Gianyar, selected the same theme but with a different perspective.
One of their female relatives was a victim of domestic violence and both Rahayu and Gayatri wanted to find out whether their village's customary law, awig-awig had any clause on the subject.
Filming the documentary, which was later on titled Kesaksian Awig (The Awig Testimony), was a difficult process, Rahayu said.
"It was very hard to find visual representations for the important things said by our sources," she said.
Two other students from SMAN 1 Sukawati, Ni Wayan Ratna Kesuma Dewi and Nyuvita, chose to explore the theme of environment conservation and global warming.
The pair focussed on the consumption of toilet paper and paper towels in the island's restaurants.
"The more we use toilet paper and paper towels, the more we will see trees being felled to manufacture those products," Ratna said of her documentary Si Putih (The White).
Ratna said filming of the documentary was an exhausting yet enlightening process.
"This was my first time (making a film). Writing an interesting script was the most difficult part of the whole process," she added.
Dewa Ayu Widyastiti and Sherina, students from SMAN 3 Denpasar, posed a critically poignant question in their documentary Tumpek Uduh.
Tumpek Uduh is the Balinese-Hindu religious festival held to pay tribute to the trees and plants. During the festival, the Balinese present offerings to trees, expressing gratitude to the trees for their generosity to human beings.
"The film captures our anxiety; a question that continues to haunt us: How can Bali, a society which has so much local wisdom on environmental conservation, including Tumpek Uduh, fail to prevent the ongoing deterioration of its natural surroundings?," Widyastiti said.
The five documentaries will be submitted in an ongoing documentary film festival organized by the Jakarta Arts Council and PT Kawanusa.
The festival, which is sponsored by the global cosmetic company The Bodyshop, is being held at four regions; Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali.
"In Bali we received 20 documentaries submitted by groups of students from across the island. We selected the five best stories and invited the students who submitted them to participate in a workshop on documentary film-making," Kawanusa director, Yoga Atmaja, said.
At the completion of the workshop, the organizers provided the students with video cameras and technical assistance during filming.
"Their films have been sent to Jakarta to participate in the national-level selection," he added.
Currently, copies of the films are being screened at schools across the island.
The winner of the festival will be announced at the end of this month. The festival judges include director Riri Reza, actor Nicolas Saputra and a representative from the Worldwide Fund for Nature.
