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Villagers learn to make documentary films with smartphones
Two documentary film directors from the United States, Richard Pearce and Freida Mock, recently visited Loncek hamlet in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, where they got together with locals, especially teenage high-school dropouts, and taught them how to create simple documentary films with their cell phones
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Two documentary film directors from the United States, Richard Pearce and Freida Mock, recently visited Loncek hamlet in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, where they got together with locals, especially teenage high-school dropouts, and taught them how to create simple documentary films with their cell phones.
In the relatively isolated hamlet, located some 75 kilometers from provincial capital Pontianak, the adolescents had previously been involved in forest conversion activities, but ever since an NGO initiated an environmentally friendly program in the area, they have altered their thinking.
They have turned to productive activities, such as sowing seedlings and planting rubber trees. They have even written a book on the traditions and history of their 105-year-old hamlet.
Pearce and Mock's visit was part of the American Film Showcase (AFS) cultural diplomacy program, initiated by the US State Department with a grant from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts (SCA). Besides West Kalimantan, the AFS program will also be held in a number of cities across Java and Sumatra.
Pearce and Mock were greeted with a traditional Dayak ritual, including a dance. They both videotaped the event. Mock was presented with a traditional mandau knife to cut a young bamboo pole erected at the gateway, and she scattered yellow rice toward the spectators.
Loncek hamlet is not yet connected to the power grid due to its remote location. The only access to the hamlet is via a dirt road, while a cellular phone network was only recently set up in the area.
'The community is very traditional but they face modern problems, such as land grabs by multinational corporations,' Pearce told The Jakarta Post.
He said he was impressed by the young people he met in the village who were already familiar with smartphones and the Internet. They have some experience of social media, writing blogs, book publishing and even making a simple documentary film about the village.
'They have been doing all these things. It's a good start to continue their struggle through documentary film, to share their live stories and their dreams with the world,' added Pearce, whose film, Heartland, shared the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the 1980 Berlin International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Mock and the village's womenfolk, including young girls, discussed storytelling and the role of women in the film industry. They practiced ways to make a documentary by using smartphones, then identified the ideas and the problems they face that could be made into a story.
'This is fantastic! You know, a workshop given by a woman filmmaker for women and girls in this village,' said Mock, whose documentary, Maya Lin: A Strong Vision, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1994.
Loncek, one of seven hamlets in Teluk Bakung village, Sungai Ambawang district, is inhabited by 876 people and is encircled by an oil palm plantation.
Head of the school dropouts' farming community in the hamlet, Leonardus, said residents were currently engaged in trying to protect their families' land from industrial expansion. Among a number of possible approaches, making a documentary is regarded as a significant option.
'Rather than using smartphones just to listen to music, we are trying to use them to their fullest by making a documentary film. This will strengthen our struggle [to save our land],' Leonardus said.
