Minikino offers demitasse of experimental video<\/p>\n
Paul F. Agusta, Contributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The group gathered in the screening room at Galeri Oktagon, Jl.
\nGunung Sahari Raya, Central Jakarta, was small, but intensely
\nfocused on the subject at hand.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly for a meeting taking place amid presidential
\ncampaign fever and ensuing traffic snarls, the only thing talked
\nabout was the art of video-making in relation to the urban
\nlandscape of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Minikino groups people who believe that short movies are as
\nvalid as narrative art, as are poetry and short stories. Within
\nthis point of view, even the most experimental works of cinema,
\nno matter how far from traditional narrative they may seem to be,
\nall have as their purpose the unfolding of a story, theme or
\nmessage.<\/p>\n
Seizing this idea, Minikino brings a distinctive selection of
\nshort films from around the world to audiences in Indonesia and
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
Minikino holds free screenings and discussions to provide
\nfilmmakers with an opportunity to screen their work to a wider
\naudience, and to introduce new ideas emerging in the
\ninternational short film movement to a wider public.<\/p>\n
The gathering at Galeri Oktagon on Sunday, June 27, was no
\nexception.<\/p>\n
The works presented, seven narratives of urban life and urban
\nspace, focused on the Jakarta experience. Produced by the video
\nart workshop at Ruang Rupa, Jl. Tebet Barat Dalam IX A, No. B1
\nbetween 2000 and 2003, the films took Jakarta as \"the context, a
\nconceptual background for artists working with video as a medium
\nto explore their ideas,\" said Ruang Rupa program director Indra
\nAmeng. \"Through its arts projects and workshops, Ruang Rupa
\nattempts to bring urban issues into focus.\"<\/p>\n
The first film shown was 15,000,000 Parachutes by Sebastian
\nDiaz Morales, an Argentine filmmaker who participated in a Ruang
\nRupa video art workshop in 2001; it is an abstract commentary on
\nimmigrants struggling to survive in the metropolis. The second
\nwas Elevator, made at a workshop in July 2003 by Albertus
\nWisnumurti and Stephanus Citra Pramadi of Indonesia, who
\nbrilliantly visualized the monotony and loneliness in the daily
\nroutine of a largely ignored elevator operator in a Jakarta
\noffice building.<\/p>\n
The third film was Gajah Mada -- Kuruw Mayah, also made at the
\n2003 workshop by Oliver Zwink of Germany, which is a record of a
\nround-trip journey along a main street in old Jakarta. The fourth
\nwas It's MTV by Indonesia's Ford Foundation, a member of the
\nmusic video-making collective known as The Jadugar, which
\nchallenges MTV to remove its logo from the screen so that people
\ncan get the full impact of the videos being shown.<\/p>\n
The fifth film was Everything's OK by Tintin Wulia, who is the
\nmastermind behind Minikino, a brilliantly conceptualized stop-
\nmotion animated video about the evolution of a city. The sixth
\nwas Burn by Aria Satria Dharma, a music video for an Indonesian
\ntrash metal band, Brisik. The seventh was Pulau Seribu (Tetty
\nKadi) (Thousands Island (Tetty Kadi)) by the Hussain-Klofkorn
\nIndonesia-Germany collaboration, a music video featuring a 1970s
\nIndonesian pop song accompanied by visuals of a car spiraling
\naround inside a multistory car park.<\/p>\n
At the moment, Minikino is screening and holding discussions
\nat four venues in three different cities in Indonesia: Denpasar,
\nJakarta and Bandung. In Jakarta the venues are Galeri Oktagon,
\nwhere screenings take place on the third Sunday of each month,
\nand QB World Books in Kemang, which shows short films on the
\nthird Wednesday of the month.<\/p>\n
For more information on Minikino, including schedules of
\nscreenings and workshops held in Jakarta, Denpasar and Bandung,
\nas well as other activities organized by Minikino, you can visit
\ntheir website at http:\/\/minikino.org. For more information on
\nRuang Rupa visit http:\/\/ruangrupa.org.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minikino-offers-demitasse-of-experimental-video-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}