Second Jakarta Film Festival opens Nov. 3<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta International Film Festival
\n(JiFFest) will be held here for 10 days for the second time
\nstarting Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
The festival will show some 100 quality films from Turkey,
\nIran, Egypt, India, Australia, Germany, Japan, Russian and
\nIndonesia at Usmar Ismail Film Center, Erasmus Huis, Djakarta
\nTheater, Ismail Marzuki Arts Center (TIM) and Plaza Senayan.<\/p>\n
This follows the much attended event last year which screened
\nsome 65 films, mostly award-winning pictures from various
\ncountries. Last year's festival was a huge success according to
\nthe organizers as audiences enthusiastically flooded the festival
\nvenues for nine straight days. Some of them were even willing to
\nsit on the floor.<\/p>\n
The main theme of JiFFest 2000 are contemporary Islamic
\nculture and human rights films.<\/p>\n
Shanty Harmayn, chairwoman of the Indonesian Independent Film
\nSociety Foundation and the festival's cofounder, said the
\ncontemporary Islamic culture theme had been chosen because of
\naudiences' enthusiasm to see Iranian films during last year's
\nfestival.<\/p>\n
\"These films are expected to give Indonesians a perspective on
\nevents and cultures of other countries which may have many
\nsimilarities to events or cultures here,\" Shanty told a press
\nconference last week.<\/p>\n
Shanty, who initiated the festival last year after being
\ninspired by the large crowds that attended the annual British
\nFilm Festival and the French Film Festival here, said it would be
\ninteresting to see how filmmakers in repressed Islamic countries
\ncould make creative and quality films amid tight censorship.<\/p>\n
JiFFest's director and cofounder Natacha Devillers said a
\nnumber of films that would be shown during the festival,
\nespecially those under the two main categories, reflects many
\ncurrent events in the country.<\/p>\n
Among the 14 films which will be shown under the contemporary
\nIslamic culture category are two Iranian films directed by the
\ncountry's most prominent director Abbas Kiarotami titled Wind
\nWill Carry Us and Taste of Cherry.<\/p>\n
There will be seven films on human rights screened at the
\nfestival, including the winner for Best Picture at the Cairo
\nInternational Film Award in 1996, The Story of Flores
\nContemplacion.<\/p>\n
The Philippines-made film tells the true and tragic story of
\nthe Filipino maid hung for murder in Singapore in 1995 which
\ncalled to attention the plight of overseas workers including in
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
Other categories of films during the festival are New Asian
\nCinema, U.S. Independents, Music on Film, Focus on India, Fun
\nFearless Female, Animation and Youth in Frame.<\/p>\n
The festival will also show films directed by the world's most
\nprominent film directors who are more known to art house crowds,
\nsuch as Takeshi Kitano, Errol Morris and Tran An Hung. It will
\nalso present collaborations from director-actor Werner Herzog and
\nKlaus Kinski.<\/p>\n
Four films made by foreign filmmakers but focusing on
\nIndonesia will also be shown. They include the well-known The
\nYear of Living Dangerously which tells the story of the
\nturbulence in Indonesia in 1965. It stars Mel Gibson, Sigourney
\nWeaver and Linda Hunt.<\/p>\n
The festival will also show several Indonesian films under the
\nNew Indonesian Cinema, Focus on Garin Nugroho and Djajakusuma
\nRetrospective categories.<\/p>\n
Award-winning Chinese film Shower which was directed by Zhang
\nYang has been selected to open the festival while a Bhutanese
\nfilm, The Cup will close the event.<\/p>\n
The Cup is particularly interesting since the film which
\npremiered in the Cannes Film Festival last year was written and
\ndirected by a Tibetan lama, Khyentse Norbu. The film tells the
\nstory of some Tibetan monks who were crazy about the World Cup
\nwhich eventually disturbed their concentration.<\/p>\n
The festival will also hold film discussions in which several
\nnotable speakers are scheduled to participate.<\/p>\n
Two discussions titled Issues in Contemporary Islamic Culture
\nand Islam; and Freedom of Expression and Film will be held on
\nNov. 12 at the Usmar Ismail Film Center with speakers Nurcholish
\nMadjid, Goenawan Muhammad, Asrul Sani and Ahmad Sahal.<\/p>\n
According to the festival organizing committee, the issues
\nwere raised because Islam was often represented as a homogeneous
\nentity by the mass media as well as by the Islamic community
\nitself. Part of the media still labels Islam with the stigma of
\nfundamentalists and a threat to democracy and openness. The great
\nvariety in Islam that also includes the tolerant and moderate
\nfaces of the faith is forgotten.<\/p>\n
Tickets are being sold at Rp 7,500 a movie or Rp 5,000 per
\nticket if you purchase 10 or more tickets for different films and
\nthey can be booked in advance.<\/p>\n
From Oct. 21 to Nov. 3, tickets can be obtained at Jl. Sutan
\nSyahrir 1 C Blok 3-4, Central Jakarta, while from Nov. 3 to Nov.
\n12, tickets can be obtained at Usmar Ismail Film Center at Jl.
\nH.R. Rasuna Said Kav. 22, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Tickets are also available in limited quantities at the films
\nvenues everyday two hours prior to the screening.<\/p>\n
People can visit www.jiffest.com or call (021) 923-8364 for
\nfilm schedules. (jaw).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/second-jakarta-film-festival-opens-nov-3-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}