JP\/18\/TINTIN<\/p>\n
Tintin: Music teacher goes international with film shorts<\/p>\n
Ni Luh Dian Purniawati, Contributor\/Denpasar<\/p>\n
Once a month, film buffs pack the hall of the Irama Indah House
\nmusic school and store in Denpasar to watch film shorts.<\/p>\n
The event has taken place regularly since Aug. 31, 2002,
\nthanks to Maria Clementine Wulia, founder of the Minikino film
\ncommunity, who is a daughter of the owner of Irama Indah, where
\nshe also teaches.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, Maria, affectionately called Tintin,
\nbranched out to film, although she never dreamed that she could.
\nNot only does she do this well, but her experimental shorts have
\nalso won international recognition.<\/p>\n
Art is indeed in Tintin's blood. Her grandparents, Anna Maria
\nKanginadi and Liauw Liong Ke, used to organize traveling drama
\nshows and makekawin, or recitations in ancient Javanese of
\nstories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. The couple has
\nnine children, all talented artists, among them Semarang-based
\npianist Jaya Suprana, Netherlands-based painter Sako and Yoseph,
\nowner of the famed Joger souvenir shops.<\/p>\n
Her father, Tulus Wulianta, is a pharmacist with a passion for
\nmusic who married music teacher Cecilia Indrajaya. Together, they
\nopened the Irama Indah Music House in Denpasar.<\/p>\n
Born to the couple in Denpasar on Nov. 23, 1972, Tintin
\nlearned to play several instruments at a very young age, and when
\nshe was eight, she was already composing simple pieces. Tintin
\nalso entered several competitions in Yogyakarta and Jakarta held
\nby Yamaha Music and often demonstrated her talent on Dilentasia,
\na local music program broadcast by state television station TVRI.<\/p>\n
Her interest in music grew to touch upon the importance of
\nmusic in films through Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-
\nTerrestrial, which moved her with its score by John Williams.<\/p>\n
She studied at Parahyangan University in Bandung, West Java,
\nbut in her fourth year, she took a sabbatical and attended
\nBoston's Berkeley Music School, where she took a five-week course
\nand learned about film scoring. Later, she worked part-time at
\nthe school's Digital Media Department, where she gained know-how
\nin filmmaking technology.<\/p>\n
Returning from Boston, she joined an online film project that
\ntook her on a one-month stint to Japan, where, as she walked
\nalong the Ginza red-light district of Tokyo, she espied a monk
\nwalking slowly and steadily. Tintin filmed him with her faithful
\nHandycam -- a seed that grew into the three-minute Are You Close
\nEnough, which won the Editor's Pick Award in a contest held by
\neveo.com.<\/p>\n
In Japan, she also shot Violence Against Fruits on the
\nJapanese persimmon, or Diospyros kaki, and how it is peeled and
\ncarefully quartered. The short went on to win the Kuldesak Award
\nfor Best Conceptual Film at the Indonesian Independent Video Film
\nFestival (FFVII) 2001, which is a noncompetitive event organized
\nby Konfiden, an independent film association.<\/p>\n
Her participation in the events was a means to finish films
\nshe had begun earlier: \"I want to do so many things that they are
\nrarely completed. Before one is finished, I already want to start
\na new one. So, I needed to set a deadline for myself.\"<\/p>\n
Following her success, Tintin received an email from Special
\nBroadcasting Service (SBS), a private Australian television
\nstation that broadcasts art films from all over the world on its
\nmulticultural and multilingual film program. The SBS, which had
\nread about her in the International Competition catalog from
\nOberhausen, Germany, asked for the right to broadcast her two
\nfilms for three years. She agreed.<\/p>\n
A one-week course on \"The Art of Documentary Filmmaking\" at
\nthe Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in
\nSydney gave birth to the seven-minute Slambangricketychuck shot
\nin Melbourne. It was named Best Documentary Film in June 2002 by
\nthe Music and Film Independent Artists (MAFIA), a nonprofit
\nSydney organization that aims to develop and promote independent
\nfilms and music. The MAFIA Documentary Awards is the only
\ncompetition in Australia for documentary films.<\/p>\n
Tintin believes anyone can make a film, just as anyone can
\nwrite stories, and frowns upon the notion that the industry is
\nexclusive and that filmmakers are celebrities.<\/p>\n
\"I want to eliminate this impression, because actually,
\neveryone can make films.\"<\/p>\n
Tintin also wants to see the emergence of film communities to
\nnarrow the distance between filmmakers and viewers so they can
\ninteract, and so viewers can give their feedback directly to
\nfilmmakers. To her, a close filmmaker-viewer relationship is an
\nindication that the media reflects the lives of the people.<\/p>\n
She established Minikino to realize this aim, with the support
\nof volunteers and other filmmakers like Judith Goeritno, Kiki
\nMoechtar, Marinta Singarimbun, Ridwan Rudianto, Zeno Wulia, Koko
\nHarsoe and Edo Wulia.<\/p>\n
Through Minikino, she is able to provide alternative visual
\npieces to film lovers and set a distribution line for short
\nfilms, which often face distribution problems because of the
\nflood of pirated VCDs, not to mention the film distribution
\nmonopoly held by Cineplex21 and the limited variety of quality
\ntelevision films.<\/p>\n
Minikino focuses on innovative short films, but generally
\nfeatures any alternative moving visual film, usually showing four
\nto five films on a single occasion, and also has information on
\ninternational film festivals.<\/p>\n
Tintin persisted with her idea: The first thing she did was
\nset up a website, www.minikino.org, and contact independent
\nfilmmakers around the world and invite them to show their work
\nvia Minikino. She was happy with the encouraging response she
\nreceived.<\/p>\n
Why, she wondered, didn't Indonesian independent filmmakers
\nrespond in kind?<\/p>\n
\"I don't know why,\" said Tintin. \"Maybe they are enthusiastic,
\nbut only very few sent their films. Foreign filmmakers sent me
\nmore films and on time, as they promised,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Noted figures in the industry are clearly enthusiastic about
\nTintin.<\/p>\n
Lulu Ratna from Konfiden said Tintin was consistent in making
\nshort films in her own style: \"We can see Tintin in her work.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, producer Mira Lesmana praised Tintin's films for
\ntheir expressiveness and good rhythm, sound and artistic quality.<\/p>\n
\"She can be a great filmmaker-cum-musician. Don't forget the
\nlatter,\" she commented.<\/p>\n
Internationally acclaimed film director Garin Nugroho said
\nTintin should keep developing her talents.<\/p>\n
In regards her film Ketok -- which won two awards at the FFVII
\n2002, Best Film from the Aesthetic Science and Technology (SET)
\nFoundation and Film with Best Ethnic Achievement by the Kuldesak
\nFoundation -- he noted: \"Ketok has elements of simplicity,
\nefficiency and those which are close to us. Yet it has great
\nimagination. The story-telling is innovative and there is a
\nvariety of methods.\"<\/p>\n
In music, film and through teaching, it appears Tintin is
\nimbuing the independent film industry with a new perspective and
\ncultivating appreciation for this locally underappreciated media
\namong young and veteran film lovers alike.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18tintin-1447899208",
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