W

idely recognized as a filmmaker with a string of short films under his belt, Edwin has made a second feature film, Postcards from the Zoo.

Edwin’s name popped up on the scene through his short film titled Kara, The Daughter of A Tree, which became the first Indonesian short film ever to be screened at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight in 2005. Trip to The Wound followed, which was in competition at the 2008 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.

A year later, he made another short film Hulahoop Soundings, a homage to the Coen Brothers, commissioned by International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Edwin then made his feature film debut with Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly, which premiered at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea in 2008 and was screened at many other festivals.

The film earned a host of prizes such as the FIPRESCI film critics award in Rotterdam, a Silver Prize at the Festival des 3 Continents in France and a jury special mention in Singapore.

Edwin enrolled in the Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ) to study film in 1999, but dropped out to make films independently. He later took part in workshops at the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Asian Film Academy sponsored by Busan Film Festival and participated in an omnibus project, Belkibolang, alongside other eight Indonesian filmmakers.

Postcards from the Zoo itself was financed by the support of the Torino Film Lab (Italy), the Hubert Bals Fund (the Netherlands), Goteborg International Film Festival Fund (Sweden) and Sundance Institute (the US).

A global film sales company, The Match Factory, has sealed a number of deals for Postcards, inking deals with distributors in Austria, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan.

Postcards from the Zoo revolves around Lana, a young woman who grew up surrounded a menagerie of animals after her father abandoned her in a zoo.

Raised by animal trainers, her home was the zoo and the only true home that she has ever really known.

She learns to understand the moods of a tiger, the habits of a hippo, the grace of the giraffe and the way an elephant lives.  

Both Lana and the animals share the same feelings, as they are not living in their natural environment and are not able to do their natural functions.

Lana finds contentment through her interaction with a giraffe, which live in herds in the wild, although the film’s giraffe lives in isolation in its cage.

One day, she encounters a good-looking yet charming man dressed in a cowboy suit who lures Lana with some magic tricks.

The innocent Lana is quickly enticed by his charisma and is finally willing to leave the zoo for the first time in her life to become the cowboy’s assistant.

The outside world provides a new whole experience for Lana, who is yearning to be loved and touched.  

Edwin’s latest offering is  about longing for something lost. In this film, Edwin portrays a zoo in a nonmainstream way through the eyes of his leading character.

He closely follows the animals’ routines, contrasting them with the excitement offered by the zoo, which has become a place for people of all ages, cultures and background to see and be seen.

He  highlights particular animals such as the giraffe; which happens to be his favorite; the tiger, the animal that has always been in his dreams; and the hippo, which intrigues him by the sound of its tiny ears fluttering.

Through Postcards, Edwin also shows how public places like zoos have become a favorite attraction, particularly for aimless people in Jakarta.

Edwin’s works are currently the subject of a special focus during National Film Month, held by Kineforum, a nonprofit cinema organized by the Jakarta Arts Council, at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

  A donation of Rp 100,000 (US$11) will get you admission to Postcards, while his other films, such as Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly and Nairobi Notes require a donation of Rp 50,000.

Postcards producer Meiske Taurisia said that the donation was aimed at raising funds to take the film around Indonesia to give non-Jakartans a chance to enjoy the movie.

“The donation will also go to Kineforum, since it has become the only alternative cinema in Indonesia. The existence of Kineforum is very important,” Meiske added.

Edwin’s creations will be screened from March 22 to 31. For more information on the films and the schedule, visit kineforum.org.  

— Triwik Kurniasari