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span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">JP/Ika KrismantariOnce known for his left field films filled with surreal and implicit messages, director Paul Agusta is now returning with a heartwarming feature that speaks everyone’s language: Love.

A programmer at an international film festival once said Paul was an eccentric filmmaker, describing him more like a rock star with his dyed hair and tattoos.

But when The Jakarta Post met Paul for an interview one afternoon, the 31-year-old didn’t seem that
peculiar.

He looked pretty normal with his jet black hair, and was even dressed up a bit in a black t-shirt tucked beneath a formal shirt and black jacket.

But, apparently change doesn’t only occur with his appearance. When the man shows his latest 90-minute film Parts of The Heart (POTH), which recently premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, viewers will notice that his filmmaking style can also change. Paul said the film surprised many who were familiar with his movies.

“A lot of people have called it a very sweet film. [It’s a] very sweet, lovey dovey, warm and fuzzy film, which is something that I have never been known to do,” said Paul with a smirk.

The semi-autobiographical film contains eight stories in the life of a gay man named Peter from when he was 10 years old to 40. The film captures all the emotional landmarks experienced by the character, from his first kiss to his first sexual experience to his first broken heart.

POTH is indeed a contrast to Paul’s previous two films, which were more experimental.

Paul’s first feature, Kado Hari Jadi (The Anniversary Gift, 2008), filled with violent expressions of anger and frustration, was made to express “his frustration toward not being able to make feature film for a long time.”

Graduating from a US film school, Paul returned to Indonesia in 2003 and became a film critic and curator, which he was not very satisfied with even though he was exceptional at both.

His regret and resentment can be felt through the entire film, making it very uncomfortable to watch.

His second work, At the Very Bottom of Everything (2010), was an experimental film about bipolar disorder.

Paul said the film was based on his own experience as a person who suffers from the illness. The script was made based on his journals, penned after a failed suicide attempt.

For his third film, Paul went in a completely different direction.

POTH is not a highbrow movie; it speaks to a universal subject through a linear plot with a conservative storytelling style.

Commenting on his new style, Paul described himself as a director that did not have a particular visual style, rather adjusting the genre to the requirements of the story.

“When you have eight stories about a gay man’s lesson in love, you don’t want to go violent and dark. It is sweet and heartwarming. It is the approach you take,” the man said.

The fact that he is in love is an additional factor that has made the film completely different from the previous two.

“I am pretty happy in my life right now,” said the man, who has just married his partner of five years
Kyo Hayanto.

Despite having a homosexual theme, Paul says the film is about love, and rejects it described as a “gay film”.

“Gay people are people too … love is love, a relationship is a relationship, regardless of sexual orientation,” he said.

Despite claiming to have no particular filmmaking style, one consistency in all of Paul’s films is that they have all been very personal.

Making films seems to be the most effective way for the man, who considers film the most powerful art form for storytelling, to deal with his personal issues.

Having two parents who are artists inspired Paul to find solace in art. Paul’s father is the prominent Indonesian poet Leon Agusta, while his mother is American painter Margaret Rose Glade Agusta.

Paul describes himself as a child that “did not have really much of an actual childhood” due to his early exposure to the art world. The man, who wrote his own play when he was 6 years old, said
he started reading, including William Shakespeare, when he was quite young.

Little Paul also had unique friends to hang out with as he liked to spend time with his father’s artist friends more than with children his own age.

He explained that he did not have much choice as the kids his age avoided him because he was different.

“I was different on very many levels. One, I was mixed blood. Two, I was also kind of the poorest student at a school filled with rich kids … and I was very feminine,” said Paul, who described himself as a loner during his childhood.

Not having that many friends encouraged Paul to spend most of his time with his parents and art.

Growing up with those influences, Paul seems to have had no reason not to become an artist.

“We have a joke in the family, that if you wanna be a rebel, you become an accountant, because, well, when you have two artists for parents, you know, the expected thing is to become an artist as well,” said Paul with a chuckle.

However, differing from his parents, Paul chose film as his medium of expression.

“I figure, my mom dealt in visuals, my father dealt in words. I deal in both,” he said.

He has been making short films since 1999, and is known as an edgy filmmaker with a signature experimental style. His movies have been screened at various festivals around the globe.

The latest, POTH, even received favorable audience and critics responses at the Rotterdam Film Festival, with two of three screenings sold out.

The filmmaker shared that he would not be making any such personal films in the near future, because he felt he had no major issues to work out now that he was happy sharing his life with his husband.

“POTH is gonna be my last personal film for awhile. The next few projects, I am just going to have fun,” Paul said.

Indeed, he wants to have fun, with a plan to go commercial with two horror movies in the pipeline.

“No pornstars and no pocong, I promise you,” he said, offering a sneak peak at what will be hitting cinemas in the future.