JP\/18\/HOUSEW<\/p>\n
Housewives make their own film<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Bantul, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Ngatemi, 43, and 11 other housewives never imagined they would
\nsomeday make a film about themselves.<\/p>\n
Most of the women from the Ngudi Mulyo PKK (women's family
\nwelfare organization) in rural Karang Asem, Pundong, had little
\nor no formal schooling and their days were normally taken up with
\nhelping their husbands earn additional income for their families.<\/p>\n
Some did so by collecting grass for animal feed or by working
\nas manual laborers in the rice fields. \"We are just villagers. It
\nwas really like a dream when someone came to us and offered us
\nthe opportunity to make a film on our own. How could we do it?
\nWe'd never even held a camera, much less used one to produce a
\nfilm,\" Ngatemi, a mother of two, told The Jakarta Post excitedly.<\/p>\n
The chance came when a group of activists from the Institute
\nof Development and Economic Analysis (IDEA) and community
\norganization Etnoreplika approached them. The film was part of an
\nadvocacy program aimed at providing rural women with information
\nabout health, their role in the community and access to funding.<\/p>\n
While they accepted the offer to make a film, most of the
\nwomen did not have high hopes for the project, however, they kept
\ntrying and were usually in high spirits when filmmaking under the
\nsupervision of activists.<\/p>\n
It was they who decided the story idea. It was also the women
\nwho prepared the storyboard for each of the scenes, selected the
\nplayers and shot the film for seven consecutive days.<\/p>\n
Work was divided up evenly. Karjiyah, 41, was assigned the
\ndirector, Parsini, 28, as the camerawoman, and Tusilah, 26, as
\nthe lead actor-cum-caterer.<\/p>\n
The women were also shown how to make a funding proposal to
\nthe regional government of Bantul to access funds allocated for
\nPKK associations. They applied for a donation of Rp 1.6 million
\nbut were only granted Rp 200,000.<\/p>\n
The film they produced was a matter of pride for the 12
\nhousewives and the entire community of Karang Asem. The film,
\nlater given the title Panjangka Tan Kena Sirna (Hope never dies),
\nattracted hundreds of villagers when it was given an open-air
\nscreening in the front yard of the village's local mosque.<\/p>\n
\"How were we able to make such a good movie? I can't believe
\nit,\" Karjiyah said quietly while she watched the movie on the
\ngiant screen, self-consciously pressing her palms against her
\nface.<\/p>\n
Karjiyah admitted to being stressed at the screening, saying
\nshe had worried the film would be badly received.<\/p>\n
All amateur actors, the dialog and the scenes of the film were
\nbased on the daily activities of the village, she said.<\/p>\n
\"Theoretically, it sounds as though it should have been very
\neasy to do, as we were used to talking together. Yet, in front of
\na camera, our mouths felt very stiff. We couldn't speak at all,\"
\nsaid Ngatemi, adding that some scene sometimes needed to be
\nre-shot many times.<\/p>\n
Panjangka Tan Kena Sirna tells about the struggle of members
\nof the PKK Ngudi Mulyo Association to revive a community posyandu
\n(integrated service post) that had been abandoned for a long
\ntime.<\/p>\n
The first scene of the film shows the empty posyandu at
\nscheduled times for health consultations or medical checkups.
\nAlthough an announcement is repeatedly made through the local
\nmosque's loudspeaker, none of the housewives go to the post as
\nthey are busy working and making money.<\/p>\n
\"This was not an engineered scene. It was the reality. The
\nposyandu did not work because there was no money to run it,\"
\nKarjiyah said.<\/p>\n
\"The film really shows what we have been experiencing so far
\nin the village,\" Tusini said.<\/p>\n
It also depicts domestic problems, with one scene showing a
\nhusband getting angry with his wife for joining the PKK.
\nTusilah said the scene was similar to an argument she once had
\nwith her husband, Jumakir, who became angry with her because she
\nhad gone to a PKK meeting.<\/p>\n
\"But my husband is no longer like that anymore. He laughed
\nafter seeing the film. He also often teases me by calling me a
\nfilm star,\" said Tusilad, smiling.<\/p>\n
\"Panjangka Tan Kena Sirna illustrates the reality of life for
\nwomen in rural areas who often encounter problems rooted in a
\nlack of sufficient knowledge about health, the role of women and
\naccess to funding,\" Eko Bebek of Etnoreplika said.<\/p>\n
Eko said she hoped the film would make the women more
\nconfident of their abilities and more aware of some of the
\nproblems in their village.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18housew-1447899208",
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