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‘Parasite’ inspires Indonesian filmmakers eyeing global stage
The historic success of South Korean dark comedy thriller Parasite did not start in a vacuum
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The historic success of South Korean dark comedy thriller Parasite did not start in a vacuum.
Its sweeping victory at the Oscars was a result of the country's decades of effort to cultivate a formidable film industry and enter the international market.
Indonesian film producer Meiske Taurisia of Palari Films, whose productions have had global commercial releases pointed out that coming up with a second Parasite would not be an easy feat — yet not impossible.
“It takes a whole village,” she told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
“The Parasite phenomenon is an anomaly, but it gives a lot of filmmakers here hope. But the hopeful should do our homework first as there’s a lot to be done.”
In hindsight, Parasite took a nation.
South Korean filmmaking started to flourish after the lift of film censorship in 1996, followed by the government’s decision to invest in local talent and to increase the budget for culture industries during the global monetary meltdown in 1998.
Conglomerates were also at play, finding ways to penetrate Hollywood since the turn of the century, utilizing their resources to sustain and accelerate the industry.
The film industry has become a key component of South Korea’s so-called Hallyu Wave, extensive cultural exports that include K-pop, TV drama series and variety shows, as well as the gaming industry.
These industries alone netted nearly US$9 billion in foreign revenue in 2017. The South Korean film industry was reportedly among the top 10 in the world in terms of domestic revenues. As of last year, audience numbers had reached a new high of 220 million.
Film observer Ekky Imanjaya said the phenomenon should serve as a watershed moment for the Indonesian film industry to secure a place on the global filmmaking map, riding the new wave of interest in Korean cinema and Asian films in general.
“We already have the best practices of gaining recognition in the international market as an example. What we need to do next is to design a road map and to break down the communication silos among industry players.”
The road map, he explained, should integrate work even from the preproduction phase if necessary to determine which path would be the most effective to reach a goal, perhaps an Oscar.
“There are some options, whether to have the films screened in commercial theaters outside the country or have them premiered at top international film festivals,” said Ekky, who was the editor for the World and Indonesia Film Festival Directory, a publication of the Jakarta Art Council’s Film Committee and Coordination for Film Festival in Indonesia (COFFIE).
Each option, however, has its weaknesses. According to Ekky, only producers with strong financial backing could secure a slot to screen their work at international film festivals or distribute their films for commercial viewing in foreign countries.
“Direct distribution has its limitations because this means the film can only be sold in countries with similar cultural backgrounds, such as our closest neighbors,” he said.
Getting access to a film festival can also be tricky because of the different level of exposure of each festival.
“It’s a dilemma if a film gets an offer to be listed at the Hong Kong International Film Festival while the producer was actually eying a chance at the Berlinale,” Ekky said.
The Berlinale, or Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the Cannes Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival, are the world’s top three, while the festival in Hong Kong is among the big five in Asia.
While it was previously unusual for a film to have multiple world premieres, filmmakers have normalized it by shrinking the exposure based on regions, such as an Asia premiere, European or American.
Palari Films is one of the production houses that is taking its time to reach out to the international market.
It produced the film adaptation of award-winning author Eka Kurniawan’s novel Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas (Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash), which started securing partnerships and financial backing through various project markets in 2016. The film will be released next year.
“We combine all efforts by gaining foreign grants and finding executive producers to make it work,” Meiske said.
While most of Palari Films’ productions, such as Posesif (Possessive) and Aruna & Lidahnya (Aruna and Her Palate), were screened at home before making their international rounds, Meiske said the success of Vengeance is Mine in project markets was a reason to reach the global market first.
In comparison, Parasite had its domestic release 10 days after its premiere in Cannes on May 21, 2019.
“Film festivals can be seen as a curated market that has advantages for the exposure of the selected film itself. That exposure is what we aim for,” Meiske said.
Vengeance is Mine coproducer Muhammad Zaidy added that Palari Films started to build relationships with sales agents for the targeted markets.
“At the end of the day, it is the content that matters. It would be difficult for us to produce content that reaps success in commercial theaters and film festivals, like Parasite,” he said.
Film festival darling and director Yosep Anggi Noen, whose latest film The Science of Fictions won a Special Mention Award at the Locarno Film Festival last year, said that film festivals were a parameter to see how well his work was.
“For filmmakers, film festivals are [sources of] energy, as they provide them with the space to meet the audience. When we create a movie, we’re always worried about how it will be received. So, we’re more stressed out after the movie is out and not before,” Anggi said.
“Meeting the audience is one way to ease that worry. Another way is by getting a report on viewer numbers; the higher the enthusiasm, the less worried we become as it shows the movie is well-received.”
But again, it will be a matter of how appealing the film is for international audiences.
“This is why film people should sit together and determine which film festival has the right theme or palate for Indonesian movies. This wall of international taste buds needs to be overcome first,” Ekky said.
