They were the students of the Selamat Pagi Indonesia (SPI) school in Batu, Malang, which provides free education to children from poor families. The school was founded in 2007 by Julianto Eka Putra, who is better known as Koh Jul.

The movie follows the struggle of Koh Jul in building the school and the journey of his seven students – Olfa, Robet, Yohana, Dila, Sayyidah, Wayan and Sheren – to becoming entrepreneurs. Under Koh Jul’s guidance, they managed to build businesses that combined earn billions of rupiah in revenue.

“Students in SPI school are mostly orphaned and underprivileged, so they are used to being insulted, laughed at and [have] experienced the bitterness of life,” said Yohana Yusuf, Anak Garuda co-producer and one of the seven SPI school alumni portrayed in the movie.

“But after becoming SPI school students, they are transformed into the children of Garuda who are able to fly high and overcome their differences,” she said, referring to the legendary bird-like creature in Hindu mythology.

Anak Garuda was produced by Butterfly Pictures, one of 21 business units managed by SPI school and its alumni. Director Faozan Rizal has wrapped up the filming in Malang and several cities in Europe and the movie is set to hit theaters in 2020.

“I was touched by their determination to achieve their goals,” Faozan told The Jakarta Post about his decision to take part in the project.

Previously, Faozan directed Say I Love You, which is also based on the school’s story and characters. The director expressed hope that Anak Garuda would inspire Indonesian youth to realize their dreams.

The movie features young actors, including Ajil Ditto, Clairine Clay and Tissa Biani, who plays Sayyidah.

“Despite going through multiple unfortunate events, including a car accident that almost took her life, Sayyidah never runs out of ideas and enthusiasm to keep moving forward,” Tissa said.

Violla Georgie, who portrays Yohana, said that Anak Garuda would charm the audience with its uplifting messages.

“It is a must-watch movie for all generations, be they children, adolescents, adults or anyone who dreams of being a leader, because of the positive message it delivers about how we can rise and face any challenges.”

The movie also features Geraldy Kreckhoff as Wayan, Rania Putrisari as Sheren, Rebecca Klopper as Dilla and Kiki Narendra as Koh Jul.

Prior to its silver screen adaptation, the Anak Garuda story has appeared in the form of a digital comic on the LINE Webtoon platform.  

--The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post