Film festivals giving space for different tastes<\/p>\n
Shanty Harmayn, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After reading Kenneth Turan's Sundance to Sarajevo, film
\nfestivals and the world they made, it is still startling for a
\nfilm festival organizer like myself to be reminded that there are
\nmore than 400 -- maybe 500 -- film festivals around the world.<\/p>\n
There is no official count and it is still growing: New York
\nalone has about 30 festivals, Jakarta has more than five and we
\nare not even listed in The Variety Annual Guide of Film
\nFestivals.<\/p>\n
Film festivals were born out of a thirst for alternative
\ncinema to mainstream Hollywood films, or whatever one defines as
\nmainstream films these days. Illustrating the reality of this
\ndemand, The Pusan International Film Festival in Korea managed to
\nattract more than 100,000 spectators in its first year, 1996. For
\n10 days every fall, the commercial district of Nampodong in the
\ncity looks like an ocean of young people lining up for tickets,
\nposters and screenings.<\/p>\n
Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest), since its
\ninception in 1999, has screened more than 500 films from more
\nthan 35 countries and cumulatively attracted more than 110,000
\npeople. Yet it is still small for the size of Jakarta's
\npopulation of about 12 million.<\/p>\n
JiFFest also receives requests from more than 10 cities
\noutside Jakarta for its traveling package screenings, and has
\nattracted about 18,000 viewers this year.<\/p>\n
There are so many independent and new filmmakers all over the
\nworld, from film students to anybody who wants to make films,
\nsearching for an audience for their works. This year alone,
\nprivate television station SCTV's Indonesian Independent Film
\nFestival received more than 500 short film entries from all over
\nthe country in only its second edition. The Independent Video and
\nFilm Festival (FFVII) has had about 70 to 80 entries annually for
\nthe past five years, and one can imagine the size of their
\nlibraries accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n
From the perspective of such filmmakers, film festivals are
\ntheir \"distribution channels\". They provide opportunities to be
\npicked up by local or international distributors. Some successful
\nfilms can travel the festival circuit for more than two years,
\nscreened at more than 20 film festivals all over the world.<\/p>\n
All the festivals work all year long preparing their programs.<\/p>\n
Festival programmers travel to other festivals to find new and
\npromising films and filmmakers. They watch films, read reviews,
\nmeet with distributors and make their selections. Big festivals,
\nsuch as Cannes and Venice, compete for strong programming through
\ncompetition and premieres of films by auteur filmmakers. Sundance
\nis renowned for its great discoveries of new U.S. independent
\nfilms, the next big thing.<\/p>\n
All try to be different, creative and unique to attract
\naudiences. And all share one thing: a celebration and
\ndistribution of \"not your regular movies\".<\/p>\n
In this country, the list of \"not your regular movies\"
\nactually starts with Indonesian independent films themselves,
\nespecially documentaries (Indonesian audiences are not exposed
\nenough to documentaries about Indonesia made by Indonesian
\nfilmmakers). Then, the list is added to with new Asian cinema
\n(with the exception of action films and Bollywood) and, of
\ncourse, \"world\" cinema. Outside the film festival circuit, these
\nfilms are simply not accessible, excluding the fast growing
\ndistribution of pirated DVDs.<\/p>\n
But, a film festival is not only about distribution: The
\naudience makes film festivals.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, the film festival audience can be divided into two
\ngroups. First, there are the filmmakers and film lovers, who are
\nthe core and driving power. They are students, activists and
\nyoung professionals. They are what Seno Gumira Ajidarma defined
\nin an article in the Nov. 12, 2000 edition of Kompas as the
\n\"Viewer's Revolution\".<\/p>\n
\"We want to see the films, we know what the films are, we hunt
\nthose films throughout the world and we make our own film
\nfestival,\" was the description.<\/p>\n
A screening day at FFVII would be packed with audience members
\nwho are mostly independent filmmakers and students. They are
\npeople eager to watch newly produced independent films made by
\ntheir peers.<\/p>\n
However, sustainability of a film festival in this country
\nneeds to be based on audience building. It is essential to build
\nand nurture the curiosity of the general public. Film festival
\nprogrammers need to be careful that their events are not reduced
\nto merely a \"trend\" for some to latch onto, but are worthy of
\ntheir name.<\/p>\n
The writer is the co-founder of the Jakarta International Film
\nFestival and a film director.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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