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Winning MIFF vertical films lend new angles to religiosity in Indonesia
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Student production: The team behind the viewers' favorite winning short, 'Memburu Muhammad', was challenged to join the “Relaksasi Beragama (Relax, It’s Just Religion)” vertical movie competition by Madani International Film Festival (MIFF) as a final assignment by their lecturer. (Courtesy of Akar Film) (Courtesy of Akar Film/Courtesy of Akar Film)
W
em>With fresh ideas and a more down-to-earth approach, short vertical films are getting their message across to a wider audience on social platforms, as shown by the winning entries of the MIFF vertical movie competition.
Film captures realities and presents them to many viewers from a whole new perspective. Vertical movies, shot for viewing in portrait mode on social media platforms, often do the job more effectively in the internet era.
The Madani International Film Festival (MIFF), in collaboration with publisher Bentang Pustaka, the Indonesia IATSS Forum Alumni (IIFA) and Kineforum-Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), held Kompetisi Film Vertikal (Vertical Film Competition) from December 2021 to March 2022, themed “Relaksasi Beragama (Relax, It’s Just Religion)”.
“The competition carries the spirit of anti-radicalism and encourages not only interfaith tolerance, but also peaceful coexistence within our diverse society,” Ekky Imanjaya, a MIFF board member, told a press conference held on April 26 to announce the competition’s winners.
The winners each get a cash prize from a pool totaling Rp 24 million and selected books from DKJ.
For the competition, young Indonesian filmmakers were asked to read Feby Indirani’s short story collections, Bukan Perawan Maria (Not a Virgin Mary, 2017) and Memburu Muhammad (Hunting for Muhammad, 2020), and create a 5-minute vertical movie inspired by one story.
Out of the 17 entries submitted, judges artist Inaya Wahid, award-winning filmmaker Garin Nugroho and Bentang Pustaka CEO Salman Faridi, selected four winners who had produced quality vertical movies on the competition’s theme of relaxing religiosity.
“They are the filmmakers of the future,” Salman said.
“Their works present interesting critiques on religiosity in present-day Indonesia,” he said, while underlining, “No followers of any religion in Indonesia should be above criticism.”
The winning films are available to view on Instagram Reels @bentangpustaka and @relaxitsjustreligion, and are indeed interesting to watch. Some are heartrending, while others are funny and entertaining. All are thought-provoking and encourage viewers to look at religiosity from entirely different angles.
“There’s a rich variety of storytelling in these films,” Garin Nugroho said at the press conference. “Each of these movies communicate the values in Feby’s books to the audience effectively through beautiful pictures, dialogue and music.”
The films are also to be screened at the upcoming MIFF International Film Festival, to be held in Jakarta in October.
[Note: Spoilers ahead]
1st place: 'Sepotong Cokelat Untukmu (A Bar of Chocolate for You)’ by Kincir Angin Lab
The movie opens with a young woman who appears to be meeting a friend she calls Jenn in a park. On seeing her friend, the woman apologizes profusely for being late and gives Jenn a bar of chocolate as a gesture of remorse. The camera then gently shifts from where the young woman is sitting to show the grounds of an empty cemetery around her. The sound of trees rustling in the wind makes the scene even more eerie.
It turns out that Jenn is dead and buried at the cemetery. Jenn’s family, who never approved of her decision to become a trans woman, had buried her as a man with her male birth name inscribed on the tombstone.
“In the movie, we’re expressing our concern for people who are discriminated against for their life choices that don’t really affect anyone else,” Iradat Ungkai Megah, cofounder of Yogyakarta-based production house Kincir Angin Lab, said during a telephone interview on April 29.
Ungkai was inspired by Feby’s short story “Sore Yang Menggemparkan” (A shocking afternoon), as well as the recent passing of celebrity trans woman Dorce Gamalama that led to heated debate on the internet on the appropriate burial for her, based on her religion.
Ungkai and his colleagues shot the film in a Yogyakarta cemetery using a Sony A6300 camera loaned by a friend.
“I hope no one will ever be judged on their gender and life choices in Indonesia again,” said the 27-year-old filmmaker.
2nd place: ‘Awang’ by Kaki Langit Production
Each religion claims to lead their followers to an afterlife in heaven. But when we get there, whose version of heaven will we find?
This haunting question reverberates throughout Awang by Kaki Langit Production, a theatrical troupe and production house based in Surabaya.
The movie revolves around Tin, a Muslim woman who converts to Christianity so she can marry Har, as per Indonesia’s same-faith marriage law. The woman dies shortly after giving birth to Awang, leaving the baby in the care of her mother. The young boy is raised as a Muslim, but wears a rosary around his neck whenever he misses his father.
Sadly, Awang does not live long. After his death, the boy’s grandmother and father both try to claim his body, seeking to bury him according to their different faiths.
Filmed in Javanese with a thick Surabayan accent, adds impact to the moving scenes.
“We were inspired by Feby’s short story, “Berebut Jenazah” (Fighting over the body),” Yusril Ihza FA, Kaki Langit Production cofounder and Awang producer, said during a phone interview on April 29.
Shot on a Sony A6000 in an old rented house in Bangkingan, Surabaya, Yusril and his colleagues took over two months to develop the script and plan the production.
“The message of our movie is simple and clear,” said Yusril, who is currently pursuing a master's in literature at Gadjah Mada University. “In any conflict, we should always place humanity above religion.”
Judges’ choice: ‘Pertanyaan Malaikat’ (The angels’ question) by Ilham Imanuddin
A content producer at a state-owned company in Gresik, East Java, Ilham Imanuddin became interested in joining the vertical movie competition after reading about it on social media.
“I’ve participated in many other video competitions before, but this one was much more challenging, as it addresses the issues of religion in our society today,” said the 24-year-old filmmaker.
His film was inspired by Feby’s same-name short story from Bukan Perawan Maria, and was shot using his iPhone 11Pro.
It portrays a devout Muslim woman named Umi who prays and recites the Quran every day. She also learns Arabic and decides to speak solely in that language, believing that Arabic will be used in the afterlife.
Umi then has a heart attack and meets with the angels who, to her surprise, actually speak the local version of Javanese and ask about her neglecting the people around her.
The movie’s rather serious tone is lightened by Umi’s housemaid narrating the story in a thick Javanese accent, as well as the film’s comical soundtrack.
“Religion is private,” said. Ilham “Everyone’s entitled to his or her own belief. In society, we should focus instead on social issues and innovations that bring us together.”
Viewers' favorite: ‘Memburu Muhammad’ (Hunting for Muhammad) by Akar Film
Produced by students majoring in film and TV production at ARS University in Bandung, West Java, received 289 votes on Bentang Pustaka’s Instagram account, beating out all other entries.
“Our lecturer challenged us to participate in the film competition for our final assignment this semester,” Rizal Pamungkas, now in the sixth semester, said during a phone interview on April 30.
After reading Feby’s short story collection Memburu Muhammad, Rizal and his classmates decided to create a movie inspired by the titular story.
“[Religion] in Indonesia has become too sensitive lately,” said the 24-year-old producer. “People easily senggol bacok[overreact and get angry] when discussing religion. So, we decided to touch on that issue.”
The film opens with a woman saying that a man named Muhammad had gotten her pregnant. Her incensed brother and other village men head out into the dark night in search of the alleged culprit, the yellow light from their flashlights casting a sinister glow on their angry faces.
“The scene was also inspired by Joko Anwar’s horror movie Pengabdi Setan [Satan’s Slave, 2017],” Rizal explained.
Rizal and his classmates took over a month to plan the production, which was shot using a Sony A7 Mark II at a village in Jatinangor district on the outskirts of Bandung.
Rizal was happy that viewers liked their work, and the class got an A for their final assignment.
“We really hope that the religious situation in Indonesia can be calm again, like it was before,” he said. “And [that] people will stop thinking they’re the most righteous and respect each other’s beliefs.”
