Short films come up short in gaining respect as a medium<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It all started with the bandied about slogan "Making a film is
\neasy" after the end of the authoritarian Soeharto era, which was
\nfollowed by a landmark film festival in 1999.<\/p>\n
Initiated by a group calling itself the Independent Film
\nCommunity (Konfiden), the event put short films back onto the map
\nof the local film scene by urging people -- seasoned filmmakers
\nor not -- to produce, even though short film production (unlike
\nfeatures) never really stopped since it began in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
"Back around 1998, it (a short film festival) seemed to be the
\nonly alternative. Every film festival had collapsed, following
\nthe downturn in the local film industry," said Alex Sihar, co-
\nfounder of Konfiden.<\/p>\n
Due to financial and equipment constraints for feature-length
\nmovies, short films were the best format for the festival. The
\nfirst festival, the Indonesian Film and Video Independent
\nFestival (FFVII) , attracted 110 participants, and the committee
\nhas continued to receive 70-80 entrants annually.<\/p>\n
Talented filmmakers have emerged through the annual festival,
\nsuch as Clementine "Tintin" Wulia, whose film Violence Against
\nFruit -- inspired by the May 1998 riots --, won the Kuldesak
\nAward for Best Conceptual Filmmaker in 2000's FFVII.<\/p>\n
Another is Lexy Rambadetta, a documentary filmmaker whose 2002
\nMass Grave earned the FFVII's SET Award for best documentary film
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
"Short filmmaking boomed after FFVII. The timing was right as
\ndigital video began to be a trend, and MTV just appeared as
\nwell," said Tintin, whose short films have been shown at several
\ninternational film festivals, such as the recent Hamburg Film
\nFestival.<\/p>\n
The history of short films in this country dates back to the
\n1960s, with booming use of the 80 millimeter camera. With the
\nestablishment of the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) and Taman
\nIsmail Marzuki (TIM) Arts Center in the 1970s, the medium
\ncontinued to develop, with short films a prerequisite for IKJ
\nfilm students to graduate, and TIM holding a mini film festival.<\/p>\n
With Soeharto's authoritarian government limiting short film
\nthemes to those that were development related, short films
\nsuffered from stagnancy in the 1980s. However, as democratic
\nforces started to buck at his grip on power in the next decade,
\nshort films focused on democracy and social issues were produced
\nby emerging filmmakers like Garin Nugroho and Riri Riza.<\/p>\n
"The filmmakers produced short films as their passport to
\nforeign festivals," said IKJ film lecturer Gotot Prakosa.<\/p>\n
The major turning point was 1997's Kuldesak (Cul-de-sac), a
\ncompilation of four short films. And then, of course, FFVII, and
\nthe subsequent Indonesian Independent Film Festival (FFII),
\nfounded by SCTV private television station last year.<\/p>\n
With big screen releases increasing but still few in number,
\nshort films continue to serve as a training ground for aspiring
\nfilmmakers. They also provide an alternative to the Hollywood
\nfare on at movie theaters.<\/p>\n
"Filmmakers who really choose the short film as their medium
\nare rare. Most people still see it as their stepping stone due to
\nlack of equipment and budget," Tintin said.<\/p>\n
It is different in other countries, where even filmmakers who
\nhave produced feature films still make shorts, such as director
\nNick Park, best known for animation film Chicken Run, or the
\ngroup of directors who produced Sept. 11, a compilation of short
\nfilms about the world's reaction to the 9\/11 tragedy.<\/p>\n
"It's not that short films don't provide income to the
\nfilmmaker; even for local feature filmmakers, how many of them
\nget a lot of money? It actually relies on marketing, but the
\nculture here still respects feature films," said Denpasar-based
\nTintin, winner of the San Francisco-based eveo.com competition
\nand last year's Australian MAFIA (Music and Film Independent
\nArtists) Documentary Award.<\/p>\n
From her experience in international film festivals, Tintin
\nrealized the short film could make a viable career for a
\nfilmmaker.<\/p>\n
It prompted her to establish minikino, a venue for regular
\nscreening and discussion of short films in Denpasar and Jakarta,
\nwhich was inspired by the repertory cinemas Tintin saw during a
\ntrip to Australia in 2001.<\/p>\n
"We focus on short films, because they are more pithy and
\neasier to discuss afterward than full-length feature films," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"But our program could be extended to films that do not
\nbenefit from any other distribution."<\/p>\n
As for the quality of local short films, Tintin said that
\nthere was still a resistance to exploration of technique.<\/p>\n
"I see that many short films are still a shortened feature-
\nlength film. They also lack storytelling technique, and lack of
\nvariation in theme. It's maybe because the references are still
\nlimited," she said.<\/p>\n
Gotot said the weakness of local short films lay in the lack
\nof appreciation.<\/p>\n
"All the filmmakers do is exercise (their craft) a lot," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Alex said that despite the high number of films received by
\nKonfiden each year, most come from Jakarta and Java.<\/p>\n
"The themes are quite varied, and they are quite down to earth
\nas most of them talk about daily lives. But there are no
\nproduction points from other provinces," he added.<\/p>\n
In reviving the local film industry, short films play an
\nimportant role in helping young filmmakers establish their
\nskills.<\/p>\n
Gotot hoped that the short film would shape its own culture.<\/p>\n
"As to generating income or not, that depends. In term of the
\nart, it has to be fought for, as the short film's contribution is
\nclear, it creates the film industry. Filmmakers must be sure that
\nthey can earn money from it, as long as they can create a
\ncommunity and a market."<\/p>\n
According to Alex, foreign countries have begun to show
\ninterest in local short films, such as Germany's Oberhausen Film
\nFestival, which plans to set up an Indonesian section as long as
\nlocal filmmakers can keep up with demand.<\/p>\n
"We're still unable to do that. There has to be a really good
\nscheme first," he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the many shortcomings, at the very least the local
\naudience has an alternative cinematic forum, Tintin said.<\/p>\n
"If the industry starts to revive, it could work as a
\nchallenge, so that the industry is not stagnant and uniform,
\nwhich was why local industry collapsed in the first place."<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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