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Documentary provides different angle on the 1965 tragedy
Voice from the island: Scenes from Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta, a documentary film by Rahung Nasution
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Voice from the island: Scenes from Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta, a documentary film by Rahung Nasution. (Courtesy of Rahung Nasution) (Courtesy of Rahung Nasution)
Voice from the island: Scenes from Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta, a documentary film by Rahung Nasution. (Courtesy of Rahung Nasution)
The planned screening of the documentary Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta (Buru Island: My Homeland) may not be the first event to receive threats for telling stories of the 1965 tragedy, but it boasts a more persistent audience and organizer than most such events.
The film, by chef and director Rahung Nasution, had its screening sabotaged on Wednesday by a group of fundamentalists not happy with the materials covered by the film. Similar disruptions have affected the screenings of other film's dealing with the same issue. Public viewings of The Look of Silence by American director Joshua Oppenheimer, for example, were canceled in several regions due to protests.
But unlike The Look of Silence, that mostly succumbed to protesters' demands, the screening of Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta still took place, though the organizing committee had to move the event from the Goethe Institute to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday afternoon.
The venue change itself was also a form of protest against the police who refused to guarantee the security of the event.
'They can't silence us,' organizing committee representative Dhyta Caturani said followed by loud cheers from the audience that packed the screening room at Komnas HAM.
The committee had to organize a second screening to cater for the overwhelming numbers, many not fitting into the first screening as the new venue was smaller than the planned one.
Located in the Banda Sea, the island of Buru is associated with the country's dark human-rights record around the time of the Sept. 30 coup attempt, which was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Many people who were accused of having connections with the PKI were imprisoned on the island without trial. They included late Indonesian acclaimed author Pramoedya Ananta Toer who refused to be silenced, writing numerous notes, letters and essays during his imprisonment in the island.
While other documentary films on this issue only speak about the victims or perpetrators, Pulau Buru: Tanah Air Beta has given airtime to a different voice: that of the young generation.
The film tells a story about a young woman named Ken Setiawan who accompanies her father Hersri Setiawan and his friend Tedjabayu on a pilgrimage to Buru Island where they had previously been held captive for years due to their connections with the PKI.
On the island, Ken learns about her father's past and the trauma he suffered. She meets her father's fellow former political prisoners who still live on the island.
'Every child must know their parents' history,' Ken says at the beginning of the movie, while holding back her tears.
'This place [Buru Island] is the first in Indonesia where I feel free to say that I am the daughter of a political prisoner,' she says in another scene.
Whisnu Yonar, the film's producer, said that the film was dedicated to the young generation because they were the only hope for the nation in the struggle for truth and reconciliation following the 1965 massacre.
Human-rights activists, victims and the families of victims of the 1965 tragedy have demanded the government deliver justice for the hundreds of thousands of people killed and sent into exile without trial during that bloody year.
New hope arises under the administration of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, who has pledged to resolve past human-rights abuses, including the 1965 crimes. Yet, his promise has not been backed up by action so far.
During the press conference before the screening, Hersri himself spoke and expressed regret that Jokowi did not mention the country's dark past during his recent state visit to Buru Island.
'Not a single word did he mention about the land being developed by the hard work of political prisoners. Without us, Buru Island would not be the major producer of rice it is today,' he said in dismay.
Meanwhile, the film's director Rahung said this project was his way of repaying his debt to the nation's history.
'As part of the younger generation, I have an obligation to tell the truth. I was told when I was little that Buru Island was an island filled with bad people. But, we know that is not true,' he said.
Echoing that opinion, Whisnu said the film's target audience was young people because he wanted to see the country nurture young people who were 'history healthy' to move toward a better future.
The article has been changed to include the correction of quotes by Ken Setiawan.
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