JP/Jerry Adiguna

Rising star Tatjana Saphira Hartmann has got a strong foothold in film industry as she continues to explore her dexterity on the silver screen.

Her latest film, I Am Hope, is now out in cinemas and ready to entertain moviegoers with Tatjana'€™s captivating role as a girl who remains hopeful despite cancer.

In her fifth film, Tatjana plays Mia, a girl who dreams of becoming a director for stage plays. As she is about to make her dream come true, she is diagnosed with cancer '€“ the same illness that claimed the life of her mother.

'€œMia is the most challenging role I'€™ve played so far. This film is more serious than my previous ones, and it took me a lot of effort,'€ she said during a visit to The Jakarta Post recently.

Her role in the movie is definitely not an easy one, as she needs to convince the audience that she really suffers from cancer.

And with less than a month to prepare, she used her time to learn about her role by watching films set around the theme of cancer, such as Fault in Our Stars, 50/50 and My Sister'€™s Keeper.

'€œI also met with cancer patients and tried to understand what they have gone through and how they deal with it,'€ she said.

'€œI am Hope is not based on any figure, so I have greater leeway to explore the character for myself.'€

In spite of the challenges, Tatjana said she really enjoyed playing Mia, as they had a few things in common.

'€œMia is an introvert person, just like me. She is also portrayed as someone who prefers to stay in her comfort zone where she can explore many of her creative ideas, and I feel that way too,'€ Tatjana said.

She said that she was also grateful she could be part of a working environment that allowed her to learn many aspects of film, forcing her to get out of her comfort zone.

'€œI learned a lot about acting from Om Tio (senior actor Tio Pakusadewo), and I also got the chance to discuss cinematography with award-winning cinematographer Yudi Datau,'€ said the fan of Sandra Bullock and Dian Sastrowardoyo, referring to Tio as an uncle.

Tatjana'€™s first movie was Crazy Love in 2013. She started to steal the attention when she participated in the comedy Get M4rried, alongside Nirina Zubir, Nino Fernandez and Ringgo Agusrahman.

In 2014, she starred in Runaway, sharing the screen with Ahmad Al Ghazali, Citra Award winner Dewi Irawan and senior actor Ray Sahetapy.

Her fourth film, Negeri van Oranje (Country of Orange), was released in 2015, starring Citra-winning actor Chicco Jerikho alongside Abimana Aryasatya and Arifin Putra.

Jakarta-born Tatjana began her career in showbiz when she was two years old, featuring in a baby product for a TV commercial.

'€œAt that time, my mom worked for an advertising agency, and she saw the potential in me. Since then, my parents supported me to take part in auditions, taking me from casting to casting,'€ she said.

Sometimes she did not get the part, but other times, it was her who rejected the offer.

'€œWhen the offer did not suit my schedule at school, I would refuse it. I had to make priorities, and school was my number one priority,'€ said Tatjana, who graduated from High Scope high school last year.

She also became the model of several music videos and starred in TV series.

'€œI honestly wasn'€™t too satisfied with the results of the TV series; it didn'€™t go as I had expected it to, so I decided not to extend my contract,'€ she said. '€œI think it'€™s just useless if we do something that we'€™re not passionate about.'€

Tatjana, the oldest of two, said that as she had graduated high school, she now only wanted to concentrate on developing her skills in film, gaining a lot of experience before going back to school.

She said that when her time to go back to school arrived, she would like to study business, as she wished to become an entrepreneur by establishing a business that is related to beauty and kitchen utensils.

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