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Independent cinema INDISKOP launches online film festival
The activities in the festival, which include film classes, film screenings, film-making competitions and talkshows, will run from June 26 to Aug. 26.
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The Indiskop logo adorns a corridor outside the discount theater, which opened the doors of its inaugural branch at Teluk Gong Market, North Jakarta, on Oct. 9, 2019 (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Community-based cinema collective INDISKOP launched the 2020 Indiskop Online Film Festival on Wednesday.
The festival, slated to run from June 26 to Aug. 26, will include film classes, screenings, filmmaking competitions and talkshows.
“Film as an artwork has to be able to be enjoyed by everyone from any background without exception," INDISKOP founder and actress Marcella Zalianty said in an online press conference on Wednesday. "The festival is also our social and creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The film classes comprise training in storytelling, acting, directing, scriptwriting, producing, editing, film business and entrepreneurship, to help build the skills needed in the film industry. Renowned professionals such as director Garin Nugroho, director and producer Ifa Isfansyah, as well as actors Reza Rahadian and Chelsea Islan will act as mentors. The classes will be held via Zoom application, with tuition fees ranging from Rp 150,000 (US$ 10.60) to Rp 2 million. A trainee can pay Rp 3.5 million for one package of all classes.
Every Monday, a talkshow will be held on 4 p.m. for free on INDISKOP’s Instagram account.
On Wednesday, INDISKOP also launched a mobile application as a means to screen films throughout the festival. A series of curated Indonesian films and short films can be viewed on the app.
INDISKOP made headlines in 2019 when it opened a low-budget cinema building in a traditional market in Teluk Gong, North Jakarta. The cinema offered a humble alternative for those who wanted to go to the movies but could not afford going to cinemas in Jakarta.
Read also: Award-winning documentary 'The Land Beneath the Fog' available on YouTube
Film critic Hikmat Darmawan said research showed young moviegoers in Indonesia preferred watching Indonesian films in the cinema instead of those made in Hollywood.
“What hampered them from watching Indonesian films is a lack of access. Many have to travel far, even outside their provinces, just to watch movies,” Hikmat said in the press conference.
“This shows that faith in Indonesian films is actually solid. The existence of a people’s cinema such as INDISKOP is a part of the film ecosystem, as well as part of the public space,” Hikmat said.
Joshua Simanjuntak, acting head of digital economy and creative products of the Tourism and Creative Industry Ministry, officiated at the opening of the festival.
“We have to remember that 69 percent of cinemas are still located in Java,” he said in his opening speech, “Perhaps a digital film festival can answer this challenge.”
Marcella added that along with its entertainment and education purposes, the festival was expected to build optimism and spirit as a recovery medium. "It is also a sharing medium as tuition from the film classes will be donated to our friends in the industry who are affected by the pandemic,” she said. (wng)
