T

here were almost 150 people, 30 of them Indonesians, watching the Indonesian film Tabula Rasa in the Oberdan Space of the San Fedele Auditorium, Milan, Italy, on May 10.

This was one of the 800 films selected from different continents to be presented and watched during the 25th Festival of African, Asian and Latin-American Cinema held from May 4-10 in Milan.

'€œFilms that Feed'€ was the title of the festival chosen by the organizer to match the main theme of EXPO 2015 '€œFeeding the planet, Energy for life'€, which is being held until October.

If the purpose of the expo is '€œfor confronting the issues of agriculture, sustainable development and the struggle to combat hunger for the common good'€, the festival'€™s purpose was to introduce others to how people in certain cultures and circumstances are nurtured.

Tabula Rasa, which is about Padang cuisine, introduces our way of preparing food and feeding ourselves. This film is truly one way of presenting Indonesian cuisine abroad. I appreciated this film and was so glad to watch it because it depicts the ordinary life of our people: food, relationships, friendship and kindness. It represents aspects of our culture.

Before watching this film there was an '€œIndonesian Happy Hour'€, which gave people an opportunity to taste food typical of Indonesia. Indeed, some Indonesians who live in Parma e Milano prepared and presented some of the food.

There was rujak (fruit and vegetable salad), gethuk (dish made from cassava), lumpia (fried spring rolls), pandan cake and wedang jahe (hot ginger drink).

This event was organized by the Rela Hati Indonesian Community of Parma, with the support of the Indonesian Embassy in Rome.

Ferdinandus Supandris
Milan, Italy