IFF 2009
Have A Taste!
Ten Films, Ten Days, Thousands of Participants and One Unforgettable Festival.
After ten continuous nights of festivities, The Indonesian Film Festival 2009 had finally come to an end. Ten distinguished Indonesian films were screened to our fellow Melbournians, with each of them presenting the many different facets and identities of Indonesia in the contemporary globalizing world.
During the festival, many special events were held in conjunction to the film screenings. As per the normative, a film festival is nothing without a grand opening night and the symbolic presence of the red carpet to evoke the atmosphere of celebrated film festivals of the world.
On the night of Friday, 14th of August 2009, RMIT Capitol Theater was filled with a jovial air of enthusiasm from the participants in anticipation for the premiere of the first slasher movie of its kind in Indonesia, duly titled ‘Macabre.’ An opening film is not complete unless there is an element of celebrity involved. In this case, the directors of the film, The Mo Brothers, as well as several cast of ‘Macabre’ such as Sigi Wimala, Ario Bayu and Dendy Subangil, attended the event as our guests of honours.
Following the outstanding and overwhelming responses that we receive on the opening night, IFF 09 went on to screen three other feature films the following day on Saturday, the 15th of August 2009. They are comprised of a teenage drama comedy, ‘Queen Bee’; a blog-turned-to-novel-turned-to-film ‘Kambing Jantan’; and a multi-themed thriller, ‘Takut’ (Faces of Fear). The diverse range of film genres generated an overall positive feedback from the audience according to SATU TV reporter who was covering the Festival for the whole day.
On Sunday, 16th August 2009, many flooded to the venue to attend the screening of a star-studded drama comedy, ‘Janda Kembang’, which kicked off with an initial screening of Mira Lesmana and Riri Reza’s artistic interpretation of the Hindu epic legend, ‘Drupadi’. Due to the overwhelming demand of ‘Cin(T)a’ on our Closing Night, the IFF team has decided to replace the second screening of ‘Macabre’ with a second screening of the aforementioned film. We have all agreed that the Melbourne audience should get a second chance in seeing this controversial independent film based on the possibility and challenges of love between two races and two different Gods.
On Monday, 17th August 2009, a public seminar with The Mo Brothers, the producers of the film ‘Macabre,’ was carried out at the Laby Theatre in the University of Melbourne. The following day, a movie marathon of ‘Drupadi’ and ‘Kantata Takwa’ was presented to the public eyes of Melbourne at the Australian Centre for the Moving Images (ACMI). The session that commenced at 5.45 pm was clearly on everyone’s favourite list as there were almost no empty seats left in the studio. The participants were pleasantly amazed with both ‘Kantata Takwa’ and ‘Drupadi’ as both films gave them contrasting images of Indonesia along with the situation and issues surrounding the nation. On the aftermath of the movie, the IFF team conducted a small informal interview with the audiences and was surprised to hear some of the comments that they received. One Australian girl from Wesley College confessed that she could not wait for ‘Kantata Takwa’ as she is a big fan of Iwan Fals. Another man even made a very thorough, detailed and critical comment on the issue of freedom of expression in Indonesia, which was very much articulated through the film ‘Kantata Takwa’.
On the following day, the Festival continued at ACMI with a screening of a very heart-breaking and controversial documentary, ‘Pertaruhan’ (At Stake). This documentary compiled by Nia Dinata has certainly opened the eyes of its audiences. It is of no surprise at all that people were leaving the theatre slightly disturbed with the feminine issue still lingering on their mind.
The Festival concluded on Thursday, 20 August 2009. It was the night that everyone was waiting for. The Closing Night tickets have sold out long before the festival even begins. As similar to the Opening Night, the Closing Night also featured celebrity guests, namely the director of the movie, ‘Cin(T)a’, Sammaria Simanjuntak and actress Sairaa Jihan. In build up to the actual screening, a trivia session was carried out. An air of enthusiasm filled up the theatre when the questions were thrown to the audience as everyone wanted to try their luck at winning an I-pod and T-Lab Shirts generously provided by the sponsors of the festival. At the end of the screening, a Q&A session was conducted. During this session, Sammaria Simanjuntak took the audience and the film to a deeper level with her thoughts and comments on the film.
In addition to the screening of feature films, there was also a short film competition. This prestigious competition has produced 5 new films and directors. The winning films were screened on Monday, 17 August 2009 at The Melbourne University – Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room. Details of the winners and films can be found on the website.
All in all, the Indonesian Film Festival 2009 was proven to be a success. The IFF Inc. had successfully completed its mission in bringing the audience the various taste of Indonesia through the art of moving images. This Festival is fully supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Melbourne. Last but not least, watch out for our next upcoming Indonesian Film Festival 2010. We promise you that it is going to bigger and richer. You, as an audience, will certainly not be disappointed!
