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Jakarta goes Hollywood: Los Angeles gets Indonesian film festival
AFPBig time: Denizens of the worldâs film capital will have a chance to watch Indonesian movies at the cityâs first festival dedicated to the archipelagoâs cinema
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AFP
Big time: Denizens of the world's film capital will have a chance to watch Indonesian movies at the city's first festival dedicated to the archipelago's cinema.
Indonesian filmmakers are seeking an opportunity to get more recognition overseas by holding a film festival in the heart of the world movie industry.
The first Indonesian Film Festival in Los Angeles, slated to be held on Sept. 3 and 4 at the Regent Theater, will screen five feature movies and short movies, all produced by Indonesians either in the US or at home.
Program director Roland Wiryawan, whose short movie Would You was screened in Cannes Film Festival last year, selected critically acclaimed films with various themes of story.
The feature films to be screened are a 2011 movie Sang Penari (The Dancer), 9 Summers 10 Autumns (2013), Soegija (2012), Lovely Man (2012) and Sokola Rimba (The Jungle School, 2013).
'We want the target audience to see how far our movie industry has gone,' he told a press conference on the event plan on Aug. 27.
In working together with the US embassy and Indonesian government, the non-competition festival will be the second this year in the US, after the one in Washington DC in April.
The difference is that at the LA-Indonesia Film Festival there will be a string of discussions among the filmmakers of both countries, including Indonesian students at the School of Cinematic Art of the University of Southern California.
There will be 30 film producers, directors, artists as well as actors and actresses from Indonesia flying to LA to meet their counterparts, including Tino Saroenggalo, Edwin Nazir, Lukman Sardi, Wulan Guritno and Prisia Nasution.
Prisia is the lead female actor in Sang Penari and Sokola Rimba as well as one of the short movies to be screened in the festival.
'All of the movies brought to the festival have received recognition overseas but at home. With this festival, I want to encourage Indonesians to appreciate our own films more,' she said.
One of the USC students, Livi Zheng, is the director of Brush with Danger which will be screened on Sept. 19.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake addressed the press conference about the festival at the @america cultural center in Jakarta earlier this week, saying that LA would be a strategic venue to showcase Indonesia's 'really interesting, really cutting edge works'.
'We share the values of democracy, tolerance. There is no more important time to reaffirm those values,' he said.
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said that the festival could also enhance understanding among the people of the two countries since the movies to be screened would introduce Indonesia's culture, way of life and history.
She also commented on the opening video, which depicted the beauty of scenery in Indonesia fit for shooting locations for wide range of movies ' the beach, rocky mountains, flat desert and even the habitat of komodo dragons.
'Through the movie we are trying to net potential partner to come to Indonesia, expecting co-productions with talented Indonesians.'
Mari Elka said that there had been two or three foreign films using Indonesia for location per year, such as Eat, Pray, Love (2010), The Philosophers (2013) and Java Heat (2013).
'There is an integrated clearinghouse, the one-stop-service at the ministry to help filmmakers acquire the required permits and licensing in only a few months time,' she said.
She said, however, there would be also guidelines to protect the environment and the social norms at the shooting location.
Roland expressed hope that the festival would become an annual event, saying that its final goal would be the involvement of Indonesian talents in Hollywood production.
'We hope in the future Indonesia would not only be a backdrop in the movies, but also provide the cultural background for them,' he said.
