RICO MICHAEL BRADLEY

"Sorry I'll be late, I am stuck in a traffic jam," he called in before the afternoon appointment at a movie production house in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Only 20 minutes later, Rico appeared with Virland, director of photography and an old friend. "Come on, let's go up and talk comfortably," he said.

That day, director Rico Michael Bradley had just finished shooting his latest film, Ikhsan, in an orphanage in Cipayung, West Java.

"The film's now being edited," he said. A waiter from a downstairs caf* brought in three glasses of drinks and soon, the conversation unfurled, on his latest film, the country's education system and his personal thoughts.

"People sometimes find it hard to recognize children with dyslexia," the 33-year-old started, adding that unlike those suffering from autism, dyslexics look normal but often have learning problems.

"Therefore, such children are often thought to be incapable of learning at their appropriate level."

Rico's own dyslexic experience apparently helped him understand how hard it is to be a student with this learning disorder.

"In secondary school, I got low marks in most subjects. My parents were asked about it many times by the teachers. They could not understand why my performance was so poor," he recalled.

Only when his teacher in high school made a more personal approach could the real cause be discovered. The teacher also detected Rico's great interest and talent in theater and performing arts. With previous experience of working with dyslexic students, the teacher suggested that the school's psychologist examine Rico, leading to the conclusion that Rico was dyslexic.

"Everything got easier once the cause was revealed. Teachers had a better understanding of my condition and I was no longer stressed out by feeling different from other students," he said.

In his opinion, Indonesia's education is at times limited by putting students in categories that can cause trouble in special needs cases.

If a student is weak in math, he will be branded as a slow learner. Focused on what are seen as more important subjects, teachers fail to notice when a student is good at the arts, for instance.

He said dyslexics have a problem in the process of learning owing to learning disabilities with reading and spelling, but their intelligence is not in question, indeed they can be smarter than other kids.

Coming to know more about theater left a deep impression on Rico, prompting him to get more into it before setting up a movie production house, which shoots commercials.

"My parents were skeptical about my intended film career. They said this was not such a promising business in Indonesia, but my persistence led them to change their minds," said the sushi lover.

Ikhsan is his second production. The first was a horror flick Enam (Six).

His latest venture into another film genre, far different from his first popular horror movie, has made people wonder but Rico said he has no problem as long as he feels comfortable with the story and theme. "And Ikhsan happens to be very close to me," he said.

He said it was not just because he's a dyslexic that he became passionately involved.

"For me, the issue's worth fighting for. I would like to see the public, particularly parents, look at their children in a different way," said Rico, who is half Indonesian and half American.

Before making the film, Rico conducted a survey, including at a school for children with learning disabilities, the Pantara primary school in South Jakarta. The fact that such schools existed totally amazed him.

"With early detection and management, children affected by learning disabilities can now take advantage of appropriate learning methods much earlier," he said before sipping his chocolate milk shake.

It was there he met with Wisnu, a dyslexic child highly interested in trains. Wisnu knew absolutely everything about trains. He could in a flash glance at a train and then tell you the name of the type and year of manufacture.

Wisnu was then made a role model for Ikhsan, depicted in the film as a boy very fond of painting.

M. Farouk, who plays the character of Ikhsan, is a familiar star in Indonesian films. He has appeared in several TV series.

Rico had to use special strategies to enable Farouk to bring Ikhsan's character to life, preventing him from being trapped in the style of representation of the child figures he had previously played. During filmmaking, he did not let Farouk memorize dialogues or have advance knowledge of scenes he would play.

"In each take, I told Farouk to follow my gestures and words. And the trick succeeded in creating a slightly bewildered Ikhsan," explained Rico.

Rico, whose favorite novel is To Kill A Mockingbird, said he also has another ambition for the film, which is set to hit theaters in September 2008, having competed all of its post-production processes in Indonesia.

For its distribution, Rico plans to also cooperate with the Education Ministry.

"The film aims to fully recognize the position of teachers," he pointed out, adding that teachers are rarely seen as important people, unlike attorneys, physicians or economists.

Consequently, he said teachers have to work overtime, moonlighting for more income, undermining their focus on students.

"Teachers who are close to their students can detect unique features. It's a teacher who found out my condition."

In Ikhsan, a teacher called Harun has great concern over Ikhsan's condition. While his colleagues give up and Ikhsan is in despair for being frequently scorned by his peers, Harun remains undaunted. Through painting, Ikhsan's only interest, he gets closer to his student.

Apart from conventional casting, some actors, like actress Wulan Guritno who plays Ikhsan's mother, offered to perform in the movie because she was touched by the story.

Rico said he chose married people to play as the dyslexic boy's parents. "Those with children find it easier to empathize with such a role as they understand the feelings of parents." he said.

It was late in the afternoon and a little girl was waiting downstairs, possibly for Rico's next production of a commercial.

It was time for him to start rolling but Rico still found time to hint at his next project. He revealed that for his next film, he wanted to make a movie about a former drug addict, who has to face social stigma. It seems Rico has moved on a long way from his horror movie which is now completely out of the picture.

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