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Indonesian short movie Prenjak wins award at Cannes
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Prenjak/In The Year of Monkey's crew and cast. (Photo courtesy: Wregas Bhanutedja)
I
ndonesian short movie Prenjak/ In The Year of Monkey has came out on top at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Leica Cine Discovery Prize.
"To all our relatives, best friends, and families in Indonesia. We won!" wrote Wregas Bhanutedja, the man behind Prenjak, on his Facebook wall. "Thanks to you. This award is for you all."
Wregas, a 23-year-old film director, was also involved in making behind-the-scenes videos of the country's much-anticipated drama Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2. Prenjak was filmed in February this year in Yogyakarta by teaming up with his former high school friends, such as Henricus Pria as his line director, Rosa Winenggar and Yohanes Budyambara as cast members, as well as his movie-maker girlfriend Ersya Ruswandono as photography director.
(Read also: Two Indonesian films heading to Cannes 2016)
It took only two days for them to shoot, and they decided to submit the project to the prestigious movie festival three days before registration was closed.
The 12-minute short tells the story of widow Diah, who is on a lunch break from her work. In desperate need of money, she offers Jarwo a single matchstick for the price of Rp 10,000 ( less than US$1 ), explaining that he will have the opportunity to take a peek at Diah's body by lightning up the match in a dark place.
"The idea for the story came from a Yogyakarta cultural practice that existed in the 1980s. Nowadays, there aren’t any girls who do this anymore, and I want to show this culture in today's era, but in a different context, where Diah needs money so badly that she has to do this," Wregas told The Jakarta Post in April.
Prenjak is one of two Indonesian movies at Cannes this year.
(Read also: In a France darkened by fear, Cannes hopes to supply light)
The other movie is thriller-drama Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts – the only film from Southeast Asia signed in the L’Atelier Cinéfondation category.
L’Atelier is a program under Cinéfondation that aims act as a bridge between young filmmakers, producers and international distributors.
The movie, which involves director Mouly Surya, depict the story of a woman in Sumba who beheads a man and carries his head around on a journey after he and his friends rob her house. (dmr)
