Jiffest goes on despite financial woes

Ary Hermawan ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 12/04/2008 10:40 AM  |  Headlines

More than 100 films from 24 countries will be screened at this year's Jakarta International Film Festival (Jiffest), although the initially planned 10-day event has been scaled back to five days because of financial constraints.

The much-awaited festival will be held from Dec. 5-9 in two upmarket cinemas, FX XXI and Blitz Megaplex Grand Indonesia, as well as six cultural centers: Erasmus Huis, Taman Ismail Marzuki's Kineforum and Galeri Cipta hall, Goethehaus, Instituto Italiano di Cultura and the Japan Foundation.

Despite having less days, the festival's organizers are confident Jiffest will remain the country's premier and biggest showcase of world cinema, deemed crucial to improving the quality of local films.

"When Jiffest started, less than 10 Indonesian films were released in a year; but this year... 100 local films will have been released by December 2008," the organizers said in a press release.

Jiffest is part of the Jakarta Biennale 09, which runs from Nov. 10 to Feb. 27. The program also includes a photo exhibition titled "Ruang Perempuan" at Taman Ismail Marzuki's Galeri Cipta III hall from Dec. 2-7.

Opening the film festival will be the U.S. box office hit Burn After Reading, featuring a stellar cast led by John Malkovich, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film follows the events surrounding fired CIA agent Osborne Cox's discovery that his wife is cheating on him with a married man.

A number of local art-house films and advocacy documentaries will be specially premiered at the festival.

They include Riri Riza's epic film Drupadi, featuring Dian Sastrowardoyo and Nicholas Saputra, and Garin Nugroho's latest production, Di Bawah Pohon (Under the Tree), featuring Marcella Zalianty and Dwi Sasono.

Drupadi, the name of an ethereal queen from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, is a critique of the dominant patriarchal culture. The film was blasted by hard-line Hindu youth organizations who claimed it distorted the sacred scripture and blasphemed against the goddess.

Garin's film, which was recently selected for competition at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, explores the psychological realms of three women in the magical and spiritual world in Bali.

The other premiere is Pertaruhan (At Stake), an anthology of documentaries depicting the problems of sexuality faced by Indonesian women as they struggle with tradition and modernity.

Celebrating its 10th running, Jiffest will pay tribute to 10 local blockbuster hits of the past decade in a program called "10 Years of Indonesian Film Revival".

Among international films at the festival are France's top-highest grossing film of all time Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis, Jordanian film Captain Abu Raed and Iranian film Songs of Sparrow.

The festival will close with Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina, a sex comedy featuring Pen*lope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Scarlet Johansson and Javier Bardem.

This year's Jiffest also marks a change in the lineup of board members of Yayasan Masyarakat Mandiri Film Indonesia, the event's organizer.

"We are making the change to ensure the sustainability of Jiffest in the years to come," said Jiffest co-founder Shanty Harmayn.

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