Two Indonesian films to be screened at Cannes Festival

Two Indonesian movies, Sang Penari (The Dancer) and Rectoverso, will be screened at the 66th Cannes Films Festival in France, which will be held May 15-26.

Sang Penari (released in 2011), directed by Ifa Isfansyah, was also listed in the Competition Cannes Senior category, the head of the Tourism and Creative Economic Ministry's film exhibition and festival sub-directorate, Molly Prabawaty, said in London on Monday.

"While Rectoverso will be screened in the European Premier at the Antipoedes section in Cannes Cinephile 2013," Prabawaty said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Sang Penari was based on a trilogy of novels entitled Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (The Dancer of Paruk Village) by Ahmad Tohari and directed by Ifa Isfansyah. Starring Nyoman Oka Antara and Prisia Nasution, it tells the story of a young man and his friendship with his village's new ronggeng (dancer).

Sang Penari touches on the history of communism in Indonesia, focusing on the spreading of communist ideoligies and the government's purge of the Communist Party's members from 1965-1966.

Meanwhile, Rectoverso (released 2013) is an omnibus of five stories about the multiple facets of love adapted from a collection of short stories of the same title by author Dewi "Dee" Lestari published in 2008.

Indonesia will also promote 50 other movies that will be screened at the "Indonesian Cinema du Marche du Film" booth during the Cannes Festival, Prabawaty explained.

The Cannes International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is one of the most prestigious and publicized film festivals in the world.