JP/I.D Nugroho

The South to South 2010 film festival took its audiences by surprises when it included the 18 minutes, 9 seconds Pawang Air (Water Paranormal) film directed by Bowo Leksono from Purbalingga.

Pawang Air won a Special Mention at the biennial event as it was said to have a certain je ne sais quoi other films at the event lacked.

While Bowo is not particularly renowned for making Indonesian blockbusters, the 33-year-old director has poured his energy into making independent films, which rarely get mainstream recognition.

“I am more suited to the independent film world, so I chose [to specialize] in this type of film,” said Bowo when talking to The Jakarta Post recently.

In the indie movie scene, however, Bowo is a household name. His film Peronika has been screened at virtually all independent film festivals in Indonesia.

The film discusses the shemozzle caused by sophisticated technology, and is regarded as a good example
of a high-quality, low-budget independent film, shot with simple equipment.

“Talking about Peronika makes me proud,” Bowo recalls.

Peronika recounts the life of a small family that is turned upside down because of the son’s new cell phone. When the boy’s parents try to call him on his mobile, a woman named Veronica answers – the automated answering service provided by the network.

Because of his limited knowledge of technology, the father assumes his son is having an affair with a girl named Veronica (pronounced Peronika in Javanese). Conflicts arise. Hilarity ensues.

“A lot of people like this simple theme,” Bowo says.

Bowo’s love affair with the film world began when he joined the film community in 2002. At the time, he was working as a journalist for a daily newspaper in Jakarta.

Before that, he was involved in theater while studying in high school. His interest in movies intensified, particularly when Bowo had an opportunity to return to his homeland in Purbalingga, Central Java.

“I saw many things in Purbalingga that could be filmed.”

Bowo took the plunge and quit his job as a journalist to become a filmmaker, armed with a simple analogue S-VHS camera.

While his first film Orang Buta dan Penuntunnya (The Blind Person’s Guide) — inspired by the novel of Ahmad Jauhari — was not Bowo’s best work, it certainly opened doors for him.

“When filming the movie, I learned filmmaking is not just about images, but also sound and editing, which are serious matters,” he said.

Luckily Bowo’s friendship with other independent filmmakers from Yogyakarta helped him discover much more about filmmaking. He poured all of his self-taught knowledge into Peronika.

“Peronika was the opening film of a prestigious short film festival. It makes me feel confident,” says Bowo, who graduated from the University of Diponegoro in Semarang, Central Java.

Bowo decided it was time to share his knowledge of the film world with the Purbalingga youth community. So he dug deep into his pockets and took two of his films on a road show to several schools.

“I had just one goal. I wanted to show the young kids how easy it is to make a film and how the results can be much better than the soap operas on television,” he said.

That move bore fruit, and some of the students agreed to create a film group called Cinema Lovers Community (CLC).

The community, lead by Bowo, had just one aim: to make as many independent films as possible.

“I was fascinated by young people’s spirit. I don’t know how many independent films have been produced now. Some have won prizes at film festivals,” he said.

Sekitar Midnight (Around Midnight), a film produced by the CLC, won the Tawuran! Film Festival (organized by the Konfiden Foundation) in Surabaya.

CLC started screening its films in the Purbalingga Regency Government Building in March 2006.
The event Bioskop Kita (Our Cinema) was well received by the local community.

“People who had become bored with mainstream films came to watch the movies played in the main room of the Regency Government Building,” Bowo said. Unfortunately, the program only ran for three months, as the Purbalingga Regency administration stopped the screenings for no apparent reason.

 “We held a demonstration to protest the closure, but we’re small people, so we lost.”

As the old saying goes, the show must go on. The CLC continued to run without a venue to screen their work.

“I convinced my friends at the CLC to stay positive,” Bowo said.

And luck was on their side. Using Bowo’s funds, the CLC finally created a local film festival called the Purbalingga Film Festival 2007.

“We are at the same time trying to sharpen the CLC members’ skills,” Bowo said. And the results were not disappointing.

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