(Courtesy of Anna Sinaga)From the heated battle of the court room, Anna Sinaga has now shifted into the spotlight of the entertainment world and has plans in motion to step into the political battle zone.

Anna, who was once a practicing lawyer, recently finished and starred in her first movie project, Mursala, a story about the complexity of conflicts between ancient Batak traditions and modern values. The movie revolves around parna, a belief system that restricts certain Batak tribes from marrying each another.

Mursala, however, was not Anna's first exposure to the world of arts and camera flashes.

In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, Anna said that she always held the arts passionately in her heart.

'I learned design in the US for about one year when I graduated from junior high school but my father told me that having a design degree would mean my future was uncertain and urged me to return to Indonesia to take law,' Anna said.

Being an obedient daughter, Anna returned to Indonesia, earned her law degree and began working as a lawyer. Her first exposure of camera flashes when she was included as the youngest lawyer in Bonaran Situmeang's team to represent Anggodo Widjojo, the younger brother of graft fugitive Anggoro Widjojo.

The Anggodo case was one of the most high profile cases of 2009 as it led to open conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police. A hearing conducted by the Constitutional Court (MK) unraveled a conspiracy between several high ranking officers at the police and Anggodo to frame former KPK deputy chairmen Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto for extortion.

In 2011, Bonaran was elected to become the regent of the Tapanuli Tengah regency in north Sumatera. During this time, according to Anna, the idea to produce Mursala began to take shape.

'The main concern was how to promote tourism in Tapanuli Tengah. I proposed to make a movie using Mursala Island in Tapanuli Tengah to promote tourism there. Pak Bonaran thought it was a good idea and production began,' Anna said.

'Not many people know that Mursala was also the location of the first King Kong movie in the 1930s,' she added.

Despite the good intentions, the production of the movie was greeted with a sour response from local conservative leaders. Their objections were based on the fact that the movie brought the practice of parna into question and in addition, most of the cast were not Batak. The movie received threats of boycott and legal prosecutions.

During this turmoil, Anna's ability to build networks during her time in the legal scene proved to be handy. She managed to tone down the protests by lobbying influential Batak leaders, such as former Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung, for their support of the movie.

Anna also managed to lobby State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan to support her in premiering the movie at XXI studio cinema.

'What I have done so far shows that I am more than just a pretty face,' she said.

Anna's hard work came to fruition on April 8, during which Mursala was premiered in XXI studio at Plaza Senayan.

The premiere was attended by prominent figures from north Sumatra such as Akbar, Bonaran, Regional Representative Council (DPD) member Rahmat Shah, North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho, Democratic Party House of Representatives legislator Ruhut Sitompul and Dahlan.

Although the premiere was a relative a success, the movie's commercial success remains to be seen. In spite of this, Anna entered the movie in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Regardless of what the movie might achieve commercially or at Cannes, Anna said she was proud of what she had produced and dedicated her work to her late father, who insisted she maintain and hold her Batak identity with pride.

Although Anna said that she would do her best to live up to her father's will, she also admitted that in modern times, the potential conflict between the modern values of the younger generation and the traditional values of the old often took place. And during this type of conflict, Anna said that she often found it hard to make a choice.

'My family always wanted me to marry a Batak man while I do not have any problem with having relationships with men from other races or tribes,' she said.

Anna said that while she also thought of romance sometimes, for now she just wanted to concentrate on her next adventure in the political world and run for a seat at the House of Representatives.

Anna was recently listed as a legislative candidate in the North Sumatra electoral region from the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, the same party that supported Bonaran during the Tapanuli Tengah regency race.

Despite Anna's background being law and film, she said that she had no interest in becoming a legislator at House Commission III on law or at Commission X on art and sulture, rather, she would prefer Commission VI overseeing state-owned enterprises.

'During my interactions with Pak Dahlan, I found it interesting that there were hundreds of state-owned enterprises that could be improved. Therefore, I am curious to monitor this sector if I am elected a legislator,' she said.

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