This year heralds mounting recognition of Indonesian films at international film festivals: Rotterdam featured Indonesian films, including Soegija by Garin Nugroho, while Berlin screened two Indonesian films.

However, the Asian Film Festival (FICA) in Vesoul, France, topped them all with guest of honor Indonesia featuring 21 films from the archipelago; the film Atambua 39° Celsius, about life in Timor by Riri Riza, competed for the main award.

Martine and Jean-Marc Therouanne, two high-school teachers now retired, single-handedly founded the festival 19 years ago fueled by their enthusiasm for films and for Asia. Vesoul is situated in eastern France, near the border with Switzerland.

The festival also stresses the importance of young students among the audience attending the screenings. A jury consisting of young school students convene to award the film they deem to be the most interesting.

Jean-Marc Therouanne admitted, “Indonesia is truly a favorite of ours and I have always followed developments in the film world there with great interest!”

Martine Therouanne, a retired documentalist, was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, on the day after the opening of the festival. She emphasized the importance of aiding young filmmakers to make and screen their own films.

The choice of 90 films from Asia stretches from Turkey and Lebanon to the so-called Far East, including Indonesia, with the focus less on “blockbuster” films, more on “film d’auteur”.

Bastian Meiresonne, a specialist of Asian films, visited Indonesia several times, and he assessed over 700 Indonesian films to make this festival’s choice of 21 movies. He also made a documentary about selecting the films and interviewing film directors.

Famous Indonesian film director and producer, Garin Nugroho, was president of the international jury, crowning his continued participation in this festival since 2001 when the film A Poet (Puisi Tak Terkuburkan) won the main prize.

Garin was also awarded the Cyclo d’Or for his contribution to films on opening night on Feb. 5 .

“Vesoul film festival has become the most important Asian film festival in Europe and consistently comes up with an excellent film selection,” Garin said.

Among the Indonesian films selected was the film classic After the curfew by Usmar Ismail. Ismail was helped by Asrul Sani to write the script. In black and white, and in nearly pristine condition, the film made a great impression among French and foreign cinephiles. Interest in Ismail’s 1950s film was comparable to that shown for Indian Uday Shankar’s three hour 1948 dance film Kalpana.

The more recent Indonesian films that attracted many visitors was Lovely Man by Teddy Soeriaatmadja with Indonesian “straight” film actor Donny Damara giving a pearl of a performance as a transsexual in Jakarta being visited by his daughter. Veronique Prost, member of the Guimet Museum jury, was very impressed by the quality of Damara’s performance and the film in general.

The documentary, The Land Beneath the Fog, also garnered much praise for Shalahuddin Siregar’s delicate, but realistic vision, whereas Demi Ucok, the single comedy in the choice of 21 films, drew laughter despite the audience not really understanding the allusions to being Batak and the importance of marriage in that ethnic group.

Indonesian favorites Opera Jawa, Love for Share, The Photograph, The Rainmaker, Daun Diatas Bantal and Elaine, Elaine were highly enjoyed by the audience, as was Kamila Andini’s first film The Mirror Never Lies about a Bajau village, Nugroho’s latest film The Blindfold was greeted with consternation at the disturbing events depicted, despite great skill in the making.

In the round table discussion about the state of Indonesian movie-making, Kamila Andini said that she really was lucky because her father introduced her to the film world and was of great help in the production of her first film, but that fighting distribution problems was still just as difficult for her as for other Indonesians, including her father.

Sammaria Simanjuntak’s method of financing her film Demi Ucok fascinated many in the audience, while Nia Dinata and Garin Nugroho mentioned the difficulties surrounding the film laws in Indonesia itself, despite occasionally being assisted by foreign festival funds.

Renowned Indian film director from Calcutta, Goutam Ghose, whose film classic The Crossing was shown, was also a member of the international jury. Ghose helped Martine Armand put together the selection of Indian movies to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema with many rare Indian films.

Visitors were also treated to a large selection of movies featuring Hong Kong actor Leslie Leung on the 10th anniversary of his tragic death. Besides Adieu, my concubine, fans of the actor could also appreciate Shanghai Grand and eight other films chosen by Wafa Ghermani.

A selection of Armenian films was also shown with the great classic Sayat Nova by Serguei Paradjanov drawing much enthusiasm from die-hard cinephiles. The Cambodian documentary, a co-production between the Bophana Center in Phnom Penh and Fica in Vesoul, Where I Go by Kavich Neang appeared to be a strong favorite among young and old alike.

Among the 10 films in the main competition, five films stood out including Indonesian Riri Rizi’s film Atambua 39°’ and Korean O Muel’s black and white film Jiseul about the Korean war.

Others were very touching, such as Sri Lankan film With You, Without You by Prasanna Vithanage about the marriage  between a Tamil girl and a Singhalese man, highlighting ethnic problems after the civil war.

Philippine director Jun Robles Lana produced a light comedy with serious undertones about an elderly homosexual man living alone in a village near Manila with his faithful dog as his only companion. Bwakaw illustrated the apparent tolerance of homosexuals in the Philippines with great humor and excellent cinematography.

The Turkish film about the first night of marriage between an old man and a 14 year-old girl, Night of Silence also displayed a wry sense of fun about the problems of surmounting old traditions. Film director Reis Celik leaves the audience in suspense with an unresolved ending.

Sam Ho from Hong Kong, a member of the international jury, said that choosing the best of the 10 films in the main competition would be difficult. Indeed, it was a tie between Jiseul and With you, without you for the main award with Riri Riza winning the Inalco award for his film.

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