Hundreds of visitors filled the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, which was transformed into an open cinema for the annual visual content exhibition HelloFest in late September.

Sitting on the artificial grass carpet and fluffy bean bags, they comfortably binge-watched dozens of short films screened during the two-day exhibition. Some titles were newly submitted for the competition while others were the work of celebrity guests or titles that have traveled to various international film festivals and won awards.

The exhibition, which has been run since 2004 and is touted as the largest movie concert and creativity expo in Southeast Asia, introduced Movie Concert — a new concept of film screening, where filmmakers and actors could interact with the viewers who could enjoy music performances in conjunction with visual designs flashed on the giant screen. The musicians taking part were Lastchild, Monkey to Millionaire and Barasuara, as well as YouTube artists such as Abracadabro, Cantika Putri, Peachy Liv and Karina Devi, and visual artists Pidi Baiq and Chiki Fawzi.

In the Movie Concert, the main event of the exhibition, the visitors were invited to watch the shortlisted 25 competing films for animation, non-animation and the eight-second short categories, and to vote for their favorite movies in each category. The films were selected from 501 titles submitted, according to HelloFest founder and organizing committee chairman Wahyu Aditya.

“The number of submissions this year was lower compared to previous years, maybe because of the short time of preparation from when the competition was announced. We usually gave the participants six months to produce a movie but this year we only have two and a half months to spare,” said Wahyu, a visual content artist who founded HelloFest visual graphic course and the newly opened HelloFest vocational school.

“Quality wise, however, the nominees showed better productions that were no longer an imitation of Disney or Pixar works. Although their storytelling is still lacking, the competition participants boast their own unique style in their productions. Even the judges found it difficult to determine the winners because most of them were of good quality.”

The panel of judges consisted of Wahyu; Aki Isoyama, the programming manager of Short Short Film Festival (SSFA) & Asia in Tokyo; animator Pinot Ichwandardi; TV commercial director Ipang Wahid; filmmaker Angga Dwimas Sasongko; film director and producer Jane Lawalata and videographer Andira Pramanta.

Horror movies Makmum (Behind Me), Friday the 22nd and the eight-second Kebangun (Awaken) were among the nominees applauded by viewers for their artistic touch. Its title may be a mouthful but Studi Banting: Rumus Perubahan Usaha (Excursion not: Transfer of Energy Formula) is a smart comedy that applies the physics formula to daily life.

The animation films were not only fun to watch; they were also laden with social criticism and positive messages for young people.

The Chosen Generation, created by Ariel Victor, for example, presented various odd characters who reflected the dependency of young people on their smartphones. One of them is addicted to online games; another one’s hobby is taking food pictures — the model is human-salad in a bowl — and the last feels he has lost his existence when his phone ran out of battery.

In the eight-second CROT (splash), produced by DA Works, the makers warn about the dangers of trying to cross a street while fixated on one’s phone screen.

Breadnbeyond Studio produced Setengah Lima (4:30) on the difficulties faced by elementary school children in remote areas to reach their school, while Different by Gerald Karman sends the message that being different is merely a matter of perception.

Wahyu is optimistic about the development of visual content due to high enthusiasm of the HelloFest participants and visitors.

“At this rate, we will see more hobbyists and artists take part in this creative world next year, bringing in their own style and not following in the current trend of Japan, Korean or Hollywood styles,” he said.

WHAT’S NEXT?

In its 12 years of existence, HelloFest has contributed to launching the careers of many celebrated creators, including Faza Meonk with his IP character Si Juki and Angga Dwimas Sasongko, whose film Surat dari Praha (Letters from Prague) was the Indonesian entry for the Academy Awards this year.

 “This exhibition is also a scouting event for aspiring filmmakers or visual content creators. We send their works for competition overseas or workshops where they can learn more about the industry,” said Wahyu.

HelloFest has worked together with Tokyo-based Asiagraph, the largest digital content expo in the region, since 2008, with 12 of the works submitted winning awards.

“We will send the works of the winners to Asiagraph next year,” he said. The “alumni” of HelloFest are still taking part in the annual exhibition, which provides an ecosystem of content creators and networking for them and a separate stage to display their latest works.

HelloFest also opened its doors for artists who wished to screen their works as well as filmmakers introducing their upcoming films.

Musician Eva Celia presented her seven-minute movie Biang on the opening day, a subtle campaign against the consumption of dog meat. Biang is the Batak word for dog, a menu item at lapo, Batak ethnic food restaurants.

The visitors also got a peek at the most-awaited films, Galih dan Ratna and Headshot, and the opportunity to interact with the directors and actors.

The lead actors of Galih dan Ratna, a remake of 1979 romantic drama Gita Cinta dari SMA (Love Song from High School), Refal Hady and Sheryl Sheinafia, took the stage along with Stella Lee, who plays Ratna’s best friend Erlin, and director Lucky Kuswandi.

“I’m interested to bring the story to the screen again because I think the millennial generation lives in an artificial world and I’d like to explore how two people of this generation obtain something authentic and pure in their lives, which is a relationship,” said Lucky.

Half of the Mo Brothers duo that produced Headshot, Kimo Stamboel, and actor David Hendrawan, who plays one of the villains, talked with visitors about the making of the film. Starring Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan and Julie Estelle, it premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in September and will be released in Indonesia on Dec. 1.

“There is a possibility we will have to self-censor some graphic parts in the film before its public release,” said Kimo, who also mentioned the positive outlook for Indonesian cinema.

“Now with the development of the IT platform where we can watch movies from different countries on our phone, Indonesian films have a bigger chance to go global and make our language more familiar to the rest of the world.”

AWARD WINNERS

Special category

BEST HORROR: Makmum (Behind Me) by Riza Pahlevi, Yogyakarta
BEST CHARACTER: The Chosen Generation by Ariel Victor, Jakarta
BEST PICTURE: Surat untuk Jakarta (Letter for Jakarta) by Andre Sugianto, Jakarta

8 Detik Pas (eight second shorts)

SPECIAL MENTION: CROT by DA Works, Tangerang
FAVORITE MOVIE: OSIS by Ade Nuri Dermawan, Bogor
BEST MOVIE: Kebangun by Almitoshima Yumi Anggas, Jakarta

Non-animation

SPECIAL MENTION: Joni So’ Jagoan by Mustafa, Bandung
FAVORITE MOVIE: Studi Banting: Rumus Perubahan Usaha by Sepulang Sekolah, Bogor
BEST MOVIE: Friday 22nd by Keanji Kasyfulwarits, Jakarta
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS: Friday 22nd by Keanji Kasyfulwarits, Jakarta

Animation

SPECIAL MENTION: Indekos-Kok!! by Roleplay Studio, Malang
FAVORITE MOVIE: Setengah Lima by Breadnbeyond, Surabaya
BEST MOVIE: Different by Gerald Karman, Jakarta

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