'Without new discovery our movies will die'<\/p>\n
The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival took place in
\nlate April\/early May. The work of some Indonesian filmmakers was
\nscreened there, including that of Garin Nugroho. Shirley Surya
\nand Oddie Octaviadi interviewed him on the sidelines of the
\nfestival.<\/p>\n
Question: What has been the reaction so far from the audience and
\ncritics about your movie?
\nGarin: Rindu Kami Padamu (Of Love And Eggs) is probably the most
\ncommunicative film I've made. The questions that have arisen so
\nfar revolve around the techniques or methodology used in making
\nthis movie. The audience asked about the concept of using a
\nsoundstage and the storyline itself, which is saturated with the
\nreligion of Islam.<\/p>\n
In Rotterdam, the aspect of Islam as a part of this movie's
\nstoryline was more prominent as a result of what happened to the
\nmovie maker, Theo Van Gogh (a TV movie director who was murdered
\nbecause his movie showed an actress in see-through garments with
\nKoranic script written on her body).<\/p>\n
I was invited to give a speech at a seminar in Rotterdam on
\ncensorship. I said it's problematic because there's nothing in
\nthis world that justifies murder -- neither the war in Iraq nor
\nthe 9\/11 terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
The reasoning behind these two acts of violence cannot be
\nfathomed by most people: Logic fails. And when logic fails,
\nminority groups (different religious entities, subcultures, etc.)
\nwill use unorthodox means of communicating their view. And this
\ncan create conflict, especially when there's a lack of
\ncommunication between existing groups.<\/p>\n
Why Theo Van Gogh used Islamic symbolism in his movie is a
\nsubject for discussion -- not a reason for violence. Most
\nconflicts that are going on in the world today started for no
\nparticular reason. When there's no real cause or reason then
\npeople do things without real logic or reasoning. They follow
\nwhat they convinced themselves was the truth.<\/p>\n
What kind of message do you want to convey with this movie?<\/p>\n
One characteristic of an Islamic movie made in the past five
\nyears is the theme of gender. Second, the issue of a gap between
\ngenerations of Muslims living in Europe. They depict a
\ncontrasting portrayal of first- and second-generation Muslims.
\nThe first generation is usually shown to be orthodox and to hold
\nfast to old values. Third, there are also some movies that
\ndiscuss the theme of violence. Fourth, the prevailing theme of
\npoverty in a Muslim society. Fifth, these Islamic movies are very
\nserious, with little room for jokes.<\/p>\n
However, with Rindu Kami Padamu (Of Love and Eggs), I'm trying
\nto portray a different side or face of a Muslim society. I
\npurposely made the movie's storyline simple, filled it with jokes
\nand I even included a sexy movie actress.<\/p>\n
The movie faced no obstacles, even in Indonesia. Whereas other
\nIslamic movies tend to be dogmatic and even have violent
\novertones, I came up with a new perspective for this genre.<\/p>\n
What is problematic is that religiosity in most Islamic
\ncountries is dogmatic, while it should deal with everyday life.
\nIn that case, religion is either controlled by guns or by
\nrituals. Everyday life is left unguided.<\/p>\n
Most Indonesian movies that deal with religious themes are
\nusually very preachy. They often show elder religious elders who
\nare well respected and very orthodox. In this movie, the
\nreligious leader is shown to be a relaxed person who likes to
\njoke around -- closer to what is the reality of everyday life in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
What kind of movies would you like to make?<\/p>\n
Movies that deal with the theme of multicultural society. The
\nmovie I made prior to this one, Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja,
\ndeals with Christianity in Papua without hiding anything. And I
\nthink it's about time a movie covered this. Even though I'm not a
\nChristian, I still think it's an important subject to explore.<\/p>\n
When in Papua, you experience the culture of Christianity. The
\nsame thing happens when you're in Bali -- you experience the
\nculture of Hinduism. Indonesians need to experience these
\nvariations of culture with their eyes, ears and heart. Otherwise,
\nthe difference between ethnic customs and cultures will become
\nfearsome.<\/p>\n
With its many islands, ethnicities, and religions. Indonesia
\nis like a microcosm of the world as a whole. Therefore, my films
\nuse traditional languages so that the audience can experience the
\nmany different languages of Indonesia. The pluralism of language
\naffect many facets of movie-making -- from acting to camera
\nangle.<\/p>\n
Is it true that your films don't get much exposure in
\nmainstream cinema because of the genre you choose?<\/p>\n
Two of the seven movies I have made so far have became box
\noffice hits. They are Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti\" and Daun Di Atas
\nBantal. Compared with other producers, even in the case of the
\nmost commercial such as Mira (Lesmana), only 50 percent actually
\ncreated box office hits. But most people tend to label me on the
\nbasis of my more artistic films such as Surat untuk Bidadari,
\nBulan Tertusuk Ilalang and Puisi Tak Terkuburkan, which played to
\nonly small audiences. I think that's fine because there should be
\nboth mainstream and also minority movies.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia people tend to think that if your audience is
\nsmall then your movie is a considered a failure: That's the
\ngeneral perception. This kind of misconception is what weakens
\nthe Indonesian cinema industry and culture. Everybody wants to
\ncreate a mainstream movie.<\/p>\n
Regarding the new crops of Indonesian movies such as Arisan
\nand Banyu Biru: Are they indicators of what we can expect from
\nthe Indonesian cinema?<\/p>\n
Well, one of the differences between the new Indonesian movie
\ndirectors and the older generation is that they are more
\ninfluenced by the Western movie industry. Meanwhile, the older
\ngeneration of Indonesian movie directors were schooled by the
\nRussian and European movie makers. So, they are more into the
\nstyle of neorealism from Italy and Germany.<\/p>\n
Today's filmmakers are mostly American movie-minded -- the so-
\ncalled \"Tarantinoian crop\". There are also a generation of movie
\nmaker that stemmed from the entertainment industry such as TV.
\nThere are also those who graduated from local film schools,
\nmostly in cities such as Yogyakarta, Makasar and others.<\/p>\n
Today's movies are more about individuals while movies in the
\npast decades dealt more with collectivism.<\/p>\n
Today's directors live in a world where movies from all over
\nthe world are easily accessible in various formats. Today, cinema
\nis not the golden boy of entertainment anymore. There's a lot of
\ncompetition from other formats of entertainment.<\/p>\n
In the era of digital entertainment, where the distribution of
\nmovies is very fast, it has become too easy to be heavily
\ninspired or even copy from other people's works. It has come to
\nthe point where we even question who copies whom.<\/p>\n
From 200 short films made in Indonesia these past years, only
\nfive films made it to the International film venue. So, quantity
\nhas risen while quality has fallen.<\/p>\n
Take the film Mengejar Matahari by Rudi Sudjarwo -- the movie
\nis very good artistically and technically. However, the storyline
\nhas been told before in many other Asian movies. So, the issue is
\nnot about how to make a movie but, what issue do we want to
\ndiscuss in it?<\/p>\n
Are festivals a good measure of good movies?
\nNot always. But, for me personally, film festivals are like
\nlibraries where, if you participate, you can learn a lot.<\/p>\n
Are there any differences for the cinema industry now that we
\nhave entered the post-Soeharto \"reform\" era?<\/p>\n
In the reform era, the state of the cinema industry is
\nactually a lot like Indonesian politics -- the sense of freedom
\nis high while the essence of the movie itself is heading toward
\nmore generalization\/mainstream. Many issues that are really
\ninteresting should be brought up in movies but are neglected.<\/p>\n
Let me ask, how come there are no movies that deal with the
\nmany issues of Islam in Indonesia? Or about the issues that exist
\nin areas outside of Java? How about a movie that talks about the
\nissue of decentralization of government? Only someone like myself
\nwill actually make a movie outside of Jakarta. There are almost
\nno political movies except for a handful of documentaries.<\/p>\n
Is that because the movie makers want to cater to the
\nmainstream audience?<\/p>\n
I think that's a wrong assumption. Our audiences want to see
\nvarieties in storyline too. There's already a misconception that
\nif a movie is not about Jakarta then it won't sell. In Thailand,
\npeople actually flocks to theaters to see a movie that depicts
\nrural areas. We're too afraid to embrace pluralism, not just in
\nmovies but, in many other aspects of our lives.<\/p>\n
Indonesian movies want to cater to pop culture but are not
\nquite certain how to do it. I think pop culture is the most
\nplural genre. It has more variations compared with other genres.
\nSadly, in Indonesia, our pop culture is uniform and lacks
\nimprovisation. There should be constant discovery and recovery.<\/p>\n
Unknowingly, we are conditioned to be consumptive and not
\nproductive. Sadly, this is happening in our movie industry. If
\nthis is not remedied then our movie industry will die.<\/p>",
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