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An outsider vision for Indonesian film at AFI
Larger than life: The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s
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Larger than life: The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s. (JP/Banyubening Prieta)" border="0" height="338" width="510">Larger than life: The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s. (JP/Banyubening Prieta)Anggi Yosep Noen, has recently returned from South Korea, where his short film A Lady Caddy Who Never Saw a Hole in One received a top honor at the Busan International Film Festival.
The 30-year-old director also received an award for another short, A Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses, from Apresiasi Film Indonesia (AFI) 2013. When accepting the nod, he wondered aloud how audiences in Indonesia would be able to watch it.
âThis film has been screened in 20 places abroad. The most challenging factor today is getting honorable money from government and finding a proper place for films to meet an audience in our own country,â Anggi said to applause and laughter at the close of AFI 2013 at the South Plaza of Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, South Jakarta, earlier this month.
The short, which tells the story of a newly hired delivery woman and a furniture-store driver, was acknowledged in AFIâs Best Non-Cinema Film category, while Anggi was acknowledged as Best New Director.
The awards night, which marked the end of AFIâs second edition, shared the spotlight with the festivalâs cinema drive-in, held at day earlier at the same venue.
AFI invited the members of six classic cars communities to show up with their rides at the South Plaza for the drive-in. The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s: Arizalâs Gita Cinta Dari SMA (Gitaâs High-School Love), and the comedy Ateng Sibuk (Atengâs Busy), starring the famous Andreas Leo Ateng Suripto in the title role.
As some watched from inside the cars, others brought portable chairs to enjoy the films from outside their vehicles.
According to Andi, the founder of Klasik nâ Retro Club, there were more than 60 cars on hand. âThis drive-in is the first in a long time. Itâs too bad the quota was only for 50 cars, but this is good because it is different.â
AFI, which promotes Indonesian cultural identity, values, wisdom and character building through film, did try to be different this year in recognizing films, awarding honors to 15 films or filmmakers in 18 new categories.
While declining to name winners in its new competitions for animated films, childrenâs films, independent student films, and independent college student films, the jury gave a special appreciation award to Langka Receh, directed by junior high school student Eka Susilawati.
About 150 titles were submitted in the category, according to Ichwan Persada, the chairman of AFIâs team of experts. âMost of them have really good ideas, but were lacking execution and quality.â
Larger than life: The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s. (JP/Banyubening Prieta) Anggi Yosep Noen, has recently returned from South Korea, where his short film A Lady Caddy Who Never Saw a Hole in One received a top honor at the Busan International Film Festival.
The 30-year-old director also received an award for another short, A Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses, from Apresiasi Film Indonesia (AFI) 2013. When accepting the nod, he wondered aloud how audiences in Indonesia would be able to watch it.
'This film has been screened in 20 places abroad. The most challenging factor today is getting honorable money from government and finding a proper place for films to meet an audience in our own country,' Anggi said to applause and laughter at the close of AFI 2013 at the South Plaza of Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, South Jakarta, earlier this month.
The short, which tells the story of a newly hired delivery woman and a furniture-store driver, was acknowledged in AFI's Best Non-Cinema Film category, while Anggi was acknowledged as Best New Director.
The awards night, which marked the end of AFI's second edition, shared the spotlight with the festival's cinema drive-in, held at day earlier at the same venue.
AFI invited the members of six classic cars communities to show up with their rides at the South Plaza for the drive-in. The 6-by-12 meter screen showed two classic Indonesian films from the 1980s: Arizal's Gita Cinta Dari SMA (Gita's High-School Love), and the comedy Ateng Sibuk (Ateng's Busy), starring the famous Andreas Leo Ateng Suripto in the title role.
As some watched from inside the cars, others brought portable chairs to enjoy the films from outside their vehicles.
According to Andi, the founder of Klasik n' Retro Club, there were more than 60 cars on hand. 'This drive-in is the first in a long time. It's too bad the quota was only for 50 cars, but this is good because it is different.'
AFI, which promotes Indonesian cultural identity, values, wisdom and character building through film, did try to be different this year in recognizing films, awarding honors to 15 films or filmmakers in 18 new categories.
While declining to name winners in its new competitions for animated films, children's films, independent student films, and independent college student films, the jury gave a special appreciation award to Langka Receh, directed by junior high school student Eka Susilawati.
About 150 titles were submitted in the category, according to Ichwan Persada, the chairman of AFI's team of experts. 'Most of them have really good ideas, but were lacking execution and quality.'
The jury comprised a host of national film talents: Erwin Arnada, who was named best new director by FFI Indonesia, the nation's 'Oscar's' in 2012; the ever-luminous actress and producer Jajang C. Noer; poet and cultural critic Nirwan Dewanto; veteran actor Mathias Muchus; animation and visual effect artist Dana Riza; Ruang Rupa founder Hafiz Rancajale; journalist and author Linda Christanty; Wahyu Aditya, the founder of the HelloMotion animation school; and jury chairman Totot Indrarto, the celebrated film critic.
According to Ichwan, films like Mouly Surya's internationally acclaimed What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love, which tells a heartwarming story of love between blind people (who were incidentally portrayed by blind actors), could not be considered due to its so-called sexual content.
'We judged things based on guideline from the ministry, avoiding films that contained sadism, sex or violence,' Ichwan said, adding that the team did work independently, looking for challenging films.
'For example, Apresiasi Film Indonesia selected Riri Riza's Atambua 39 Degrees Celsius ' and it was not a pro-government movie,' Ichwan said about the film which explored the problems of refugees in Indonesia from East Timor, now Timor Leste.
Other winners included Dwi Sujanti's Denok & Gareng as Best Documentary Film, Yusuf Radjamuda's Halaman Belakang for Best Short Film, 5 CM for Best Poster, the tabloid Bintang Indonesia for best Printed Media, the website Film Indonesia as Best Non-Printed Media, the Jakarta Arts Institute for Best Educational Institution, and Hellofest for Best Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Aletta Pictures' Hasduk Berpola won AFI's audience award.
Ichwan said that the jury considered all the nominees through a cultural lens, although it was hard to set definite parameters. 'AFI winners were those who successfully portrayed the predicaments in becoming Indonesia.'
Devi Faisal Arfi, who is also known as Icang, comes from one of the nation's oldest film communities, Kopi Production in Surabaya, East Java.
She said that she was impressed by the new categories. 'I appreciate this festival, for it has embraced minorities or non-commercial films categories, like student independent films.'
Anggi expressed a similar sentiment. 'This could be evidence that there is attention being paid to those of us who are far outside the industry logic.'
Separately, Anggi said that people should question why audiences have not been offered anything outside commercial films and why they have not been protesting about it.
'Go make movie theaters, because these days, cinema networks using commercial logic cannot and will not learn to appreciate film as a cultural product.'
The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
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