United vision for region's cinema<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The 46th Asia Pacific Film Festival recently passed through
\nJakarta without any significant decisions being made about the
\nfuture of the region's film industry.<\/p>\n
The main concern in the region is how to promote local films
\nin neighboring countries in order to encourage film production
\nand dam the flood of imported Hollywood movies.<\/p>\n
During a seminar on Thursday titled Expanding the Horizon,
\nsome festival participants suggested a collaboration of
\nfilmmakers. However, this suggestion was not followed by a
\nconcrete agreement.<\/p>\n
Many factors have contributed to the stagnation of
\nAsia-Pacific film distribution. A delegation from Hanoi, for
\nexample, identified such obstacles as the mechanisms for
\nobtaining government subsidies, the obligation to use English
\nsubtitles and the lack of distributors for the Asia Pacific
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
As for Indonesia, social and political turmoil and the
\neconomic crisis have combined to push film production and
\noverseas film distribution far down the list of priorities.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Indonesia's young directors are still
\nstruggling to find their voices.<\/p>\n
According to a 1999 UNESCO survey, Indonesia produced 14
\nmovies in the 10-year period from 1988 to 1998, while importing
\n150 movies.<\/p>\n
The situation was the same in Malaysia, which produced 12
\nfilms and imported 220 during this period, and Vietnam which
\nproduced 16 films and imported 179.<\/p>\n
\"UNESCO makes a list but it fails to provide the cause.
\nActually, the list is an indication that we are being colonized
\n(by a wave of Hollywood movies),\" said veteran Indonesian
\ndirector Slamet Rahardjo Djarot.<\/p>\n
Slamet criticized festival participants for failing to come up
\nwith concrete plans for joint efforts to produce films.<\/p>\n
\"I realize that for years we have only talked about how we
\nwant to do this and that, but in fact we do nothing. We have
\nforgotten the core vision of the Asia Pacific film society,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
For his part, he said he would approach filmmakers and
\nproducers from Malaysia and Brunei to offer joint productions.
\nHis ambition is to establish a new cultural network within the
\nfilm community that he calls \"Cinema Asia Pacific\".<\/p>\n
\"We (Indonesian and Malaysia) use the same Malay language but
\nwe have not been successful in creating markets in Indonesia and
\nMalaysia. We can't blame the society because it's our fault.<\/p>\n
\"I think I should begin my work with the film societies in
\nMalaysia and Brunei, because we share the same language family.
\nIf we don't serve as an example, other people will be less
\nmotivated. But we have not yet conducted any market research or
\ndone any of the groundwork to support our initiative,\" said
\nSlamet, who is the chairman of the National Film Empowerment
\nBoard.<\/p>\n
The major hindrance to cooperation is arrogance, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have the markets, but the filmmakers are stupid. They only
\nthink about who is the best. We have to end this attitude.
\nAnother problem is that if we cooperate with Malaysia, many will
\nquestion us because they believe that Malaysia will benefit more
\nthan us.\"<\/p>\n
Director Mira Lesmana said directors from the younger
\ngeneration were striving to free themselves from the Hollywood-
\nstyle of filmmaking and find their own identities.<\/p>\n
\"The young directors are in the process of becoming great
\nstorytellers amid the bombardment of Hollywood movies. We are in
\nthe process of making films that speak to the hearts of the
\naudience and touch them,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She added that it was difficult to find a language to
\ncommunicate with the audience.<\/p>\n
\"As filmmakers we are always desperate to communicate with our
\naudiences. We use the MTV style in our first films because MTV is
\nso close to our generation. But art movies do not have much of an
\naudience here. But we're lucky because we have festivals, and we
\ncan explore any kind of story. Then we finally realize that our
\naudiences crave something different.\"<\/p>\n
She said she preferred the personal approach in promoting her
\nmovies.<\/p>\n
\"I prefer to make independent contact with Singaporean or
\nMalaysian filmmakers, participate in film festivals in other
\ncountries and seek possible joint productions.\"<\/p>\n
Mira, whose first wide screen movie, Kuldesak, sat on the
\nshelves for two years before being screened at local theaters in
\n1998, said young directors must be sensitive to people's needs.<\/p>\n
\"We must not pretend to know what people expect from a movie.
\nWe have to keep an open mind and continue inventing. The
\naudiences are different. We can only learn the audiences' desires
\nthrough discussion because we still don't do this through
\nresearch.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/united-vision-for-regions-cinema-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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