Lights, curtains: JIFFest<\/p>\n
John Badalu, Contributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFEST) is returning
\nwith a vengeance, from Dec. 3 through Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
Much larger than last year's, it features 130 films divided
\ninto a number of categories, like features, documentaries,
\nexperimental and short films.<\/p>\n
The festival will open with Wolfgang Becker's Goodbye Lenin!,
\nwhich won the Golden Bear for best feature film at last year's
\nBerlin Film Festival.<\/p>\n
A fine blend of melodrama, comedy and satire, the film -- a
\nfeel-good flick that jokes about the stereotypes of East and West
\nBerliners -- is set in the period just before the fall of the
\nBerlin Wall.<\/p>\n
Taking the theme, \"youth\", JIFFEST offers some interesting
\ninsights into the lives of young people from different countries.<\/p>\n
Michael Winterbottom's In This World is about a boy traveling
\nfrom Afghanistan to London, while Michael Gondry's Eternal
\nSunshine of the Spotless Mind is an absolutely refreshing, yet
\nbizarre love story, starring Jim Carey and Kate Winslet.<\/p>\n
Also worth watching are some exciting film retrospectives from
\nIndonesian writer-directors, such as Usmar Ismail and Sjuman
\nDjaja, plus a series of award-winning films from Italian director
\nGianni Amelio.<\/p>\n
The European Union Film Festival is being staged in
\nconjunction with JIFFest this year, with strong selections in
\nstore, like Dirty Pretty Things from UK-based Stephen Frears and
\nLilja 4-Ever by Lukas Moodysson from Sweden.<\/p>\n
Aside from the screenings, numerous fringe events may be of
\nparticular interest to film devotees.<\/p>\n
The Third Asia-Europe Film Development Plan Meeting will be
\nattended by about 50 young producers from Europe and Asia, eager
\nto exchange ideas.<\/p>\n
An exhibition of photo stills from recent Indonesian film
\nproductions makes an interesting insight into the industry here,
\nfeaturing talented photographers like Imelda Stefanni, M. Iqbal,
\nPaul Kadarisman and Timur Angin.<\/p>\n
There is much more to discover at JIFFest. For more
\ninformation, visit the website: www.jiffest.org<\/p>\n
JIFFEST schedule, more stories on pages 17, 19<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lights-curtains-jiffest-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }