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Beauty of Labuan Bajo brought closer to viewers at Keong Emas Theater
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o enjoy the beauty of the underwater world in a diving spot, you need to be equipped with swimming and diving skills. Unquestionably, you have to prepare for the travel.
But with a large and immersive display screen, the undersea marine environment can be brought closer to you, allowing you to experience it as if you were there, watching fish up close in their natural habitat.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Keong Emas Theater with its huge and immersive screen was packed with viewers, many of whom were curious schoolchildren and adolescents, during the gala premier of The Glorious Komodo Island on Sept. 29 at the Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII), East Jakarta.
The Glorious Komodo Island with Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) as the setting was the first part of a series of educational and inspiring films, under the Nusantara Indonesia program.
Keong Emas Theater’s IMAX (image maximum) format measuring 30 meters by 18 meters, is up to 40 percent larger than a standard movie screen. The huge screen, dubbed Southeast Asia’s largest, and fabulous sound made what the viewers watched in the movie extraordinary, leading them to have an immersive experience in exploring tourist spots and learning the culture of Labuan Bajo, one of Indonesia’s 10 priority tourist destinations beyond the island of Bali that the government is developing.
Story-wise, the film portrays the travel activities of three main characters selected as representing the younger generation.
The film features Fahri Muhammad, a trainer in Indonesia’s sports academic network; Patricia Yosita Hapsari, a nationally and internationally recognized swimmer; and Christoforus Vio, a young businessman and musical practitioner.
Despite having different backgrounds, the three of them show great enthusiasm about taking part in promoting healthy values among Indonesia’s younger generation.
The three of them talked to the viewers prior to the screening of the movie.
Fahri said that Indonesia’s tourist destinations were highly relevant and went down well with eco-tourism buffs, as they can promote freshness, fitness and mental health.
According to Yosita, marine tourism in Indonesia is supported by its natural wealth, unmatched in the world. Therefore, playing a role in preserving Indonesia’s richness in marine tourism spots through audio visual work is part of her nationalist mission.
Christo, well recognized for his art business, was amazed with the mission of Indonesia’s cultural preservation, which has proven to be the pride of Nusantara in various parts of the world. He said that his role in the movie served as an appeal to all to take part in preserving the wealth of Nusantara’s culture.
Breathtaking tourist spots
The movie starts with the appearance of the aforementioned three young people, who decide on visiting Labuan Bajo. Upon flying into the dream tourist destination, they take a ship to an island nearby, where the viewers are treated to the amazing sight of marine life in the clean ocean, brimming with colorful fish, turtles including big dancing ones; and coral reefs, often referred to as the “rainforests of the sea”.
Apart from the beauty of the underwater world, the viewers through the three visitors are brought closer to the Komodo National Park to view the komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard. The komodo dragons have entered the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of endangered species, as facing a high risk of extinction.
The viewers are also treated to spectacular aerial views of a port, stunning white and sandy beaches, breathtaking hills and trekking spots.
In the film, the highly curious three characters also eagerly try to learn and understand the unique local culture, local wisdom, traditional dances and local schoolchildren’s dreams.
“My dream is to become a teacher,” says one of the highly enthusiastic children in the movie who has a passion for painting.
Evidently, the less than-one-hour film lacks dramatic scenes as it focuses more on taking breathtaking tourist spots, promoting knowledge about nature and people and raising public awareness about the importance of conserving the environment and cultural legacy.
Film executive producer Herijanto Judarta, the CEO of Mahaka Visual Indonesia (MVI), entrusted by the TMII management to provide educational and inspiring content for the theater, explained that the film was the premier of a series of Hidden Gems of Nusantara presented by Keong Emas to introduce the beauty of Indonesia in motion pictures.
“The red thread that we want to deliver is nature. Our beautiful nature is internationally recognized. Then, we possess diverse ethnic groups with different cultures and everything that makes us different,” he said following the gala premier.
The film portrays the life of children living in Labuan Bajo, where they have a high sense of curiosity to achieve their ambitions and dream. “The Glorious Komodo not only showcases Labuan Bajo as a beautiful tourist destination, but there is also human-interest content,” Herijanto said.
TMII’s mission and vision and the values of Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) are translated into an audio-visual work that portrays the perfect harmony of beautiful nature, cultural diversity and local wisdom from diverse tourist destinations in Indonesia, according to Herijanto.
He also highlighted the concept of passion, which is the unique strength of the film series.
The concept of passion is adopted in the form of a true story taken from the Nusantara children who struggle in their daily lives to achieve their dreams. “The passion is recognized as the Real Hidden Gem because the Nusantara children are the new generation that will create a new force in the future,” he pointed out.
The Glorious Komodo Island also presents an immersive experience for the audiences through the giant screen.
Herijanto expressed the hope that the inspiring film could become a reminder, encouragement and “an expression of Indonesian people’s gratitude for being endowed with diversified natural beauty and noble cultures,” he noted.
Candra Agustinus, director of the movie, said that the various positive and human values, especially the power struggle that the Nusantara children had, could become the spirit booster for Indonesia.
To present the proper audio-visual display technically in the final result of the 4K resolution, The Glorious Komodo Island took advantage of a cinematic camera with the highest resolution in its class, namely the Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro 12K, along with various supporting cameras, according to Candra.
The sophisticated cameras enable the film to be visually excellent and lifelike. The viewers feel as though they are brought closer to nature, both the underwater world with its marine environment and on the land with its amazing panorama.
From the side of supporting technology, Zanipar SA Siadari, head of product marketing corporate products and visual instruments from Epson Indonesia, pointed out, “the supporting Laser Projector from Epson at the gala premier of The Glorious Komodo Island, enables the cinematic video display with the best quality in its class which can, at the same time, provide an impressive cinematic experience for the viewers, which can raise the public awareness about the message conveyed through cinematic video and showcase the sophistication of the Keong Emas Theater.”
With the premier of The Glorious Komodo Island, Keong Emas Theater is regarded by many as being reborn as an immersive and educational entertainment center for families.
