L

ook out, Hollywood, here comes East Kalimantan?

It may not be such a fantastic scenario after all: John De Rantau, director of popular movie Denias Senandung Di Atas Awan (Denias, Singing on the Cloud) , has praised the filmmaking expertise and creativity demonstrated by senior high school students of Tenggarong in Kutai.

The member of the jury at the Kawa Haq Movie Fest, held in conjunction with the Kota Raja Festival, admits he initially harbored doubts about the teens’ filmmaking ability.

“I was wondering whether they could make a movie, because I never heard of East Kalimantan winning a national film festival. I am surprised by their creativity. They are far more creative than those in the general category,” he said.

In fact, it was not easy for him to select a winner because the standard was so high.

“The important thing is how to concoct and convey the message of the film. As such, I applaud the participants of Kawa Haq Movie Fest. As a filmmaker, I must admit that East Kalimantan turned out to have many individuals with incredible filmmaking talent,” he said.

“The elements we judged focused on how the film was directed and how visual techniques were adopted.”

He expressed confidence that there would be more quality films from East Kalimantan in the near future and encouraged the young people to pursue their passion.

“There are 200 film festivals that will accommodate your works,” De Rantau, 42, told the local film community at Café Teko, Tenggarong, during the announcement of the film festival’s winners.

“Even though you do not come from Java, you should not be afraid of producing films and joining a film festival. I am sure that you will win a film festival because you display an ability that is comparable to that of national artists.”

Local Tourism and Culture Office chief Sri Wahyuni also expressed pride and appreciation to local filmmakers.

 “This is a special event to accommodate the remarkable works by people in East Kalimantan. In the coming years, through short films with durations of only 10 minutes, filmmakers can convey meaningful messages to the public,” Sri said.