Young documentarians seek justice<\/p>\n
Kenny Santana, Contributor, Jakarta, qnoy2k@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
Documentary films are not particularly popular in the country.
\nOnly one documentary film has been shown on commercial movie
\ntheaters -- Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9\/11 -- and it did poorly
\nat the local box office, despite the film's international
\nsuccess.<\/p>\n
However, popularity and box office ratings are not what the
\ndocumentary filmmakers seek: they are looking for justice.<\/p>\n
At a recent pitching forum to find the best five documentary
\nfilms with the theme \"Looking for Indonesia\" coordinated by
\nIndocs, Media Indonesia and Metro TV, held at the Goethe
\nInstitute in Menteng, Central Jakarta, eight of the 10
\nsemifinalists told the tale of the country's \"little people\"
\nfacing daily injustices.<\/p>\n
The first documentary proposal, 31:1, quoted a verse from the
\n1945 Constitution on equal education. The proposed documentary
\nfollows Mariatun, a 28-year-old blind man, fighting for his right
\nto a formal education on an equal footing with other students. In
\ntheir pitch, the two filmmakers said they hoped to open the eyes
\nof the government and the public toward supporting and respecting
\nthe rights of the disabled.<\/p>\n
Another case of injustice was proposed in the pitching for
\nCrew, which takes a look at the life of stage builders of large
\nmusical events and the great risks and low fees they face in
\ntheir profession.<\/p>\n
One of the filmmakers of the proposed Crew, Dipo Alam, 20,
\ndeveloped the idea from his own experience as a stage builder. He
\nhas observed workers take home as little as Rp. 20,000 while they
\nrisked their lives every day, working high above the ground
\nwithout safety harnesses, nor accident insurance. \"You fall, your
\nrisk\" was the attitude of both employers and employees.<\/p>\n
The point of the documentary is that the workers were
\nuninformed about their rights and yet took the risk because the
\nmore important matter was putting food on the table -- and that
\nthe employers took advantage of this basic need.<\/p>\n
More stories of injustices were pitched as the forum
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
For example, take the story about a diver in Aceh who sells
\nnational treasures because of the government's lack of
\nappreciation; or another about young horsemen in Sumbawa who
\njeopardize their futures for winning small change; and other
\nstories of a Javanese badminton player being fired because of his
\nethnicity or of an assistant bus driver risking his life every
\nday. The same theme runs through all.<\/p>\n
These proposed films all take actual events as their subjects,
\nand it seems most participating filmmakers have interpreted
\n\"Looking for Indonesia\" into a single word: injustice. It is
\nclear that these young filmmakers, who represent a segment of the
\nnation's citizenry, think that justice is not being served in
\nIndonesia -- yet.<\/p>\n
Yuli Andari, one of the winning documentarians who pitched the
\nstory on Sumbawa horsemen, said, \"When we first came up with the
\nidea of making this film, we were just concerned about the
\nsituation on Sumbawa horse-racing. A lot of money is involved in
\nthis tourism-driven event, but the racers who face the danger get
\nbasically nothing.\"<\/p>\n
She continued, \"Behind the money in racing is the most
\nimportant thing -- the racers' future. And nobody seems to care
\nabout it.\"<\/p>\n
Furthermore, she explained that under-12 racers made Rp. 5,000
\nto Rp 10,000 per race, they were not equipped with saddles,
\nhelmets or insurance, and that the situation was allowed to go on
\nunnoticed.<\/p>\n
\"As a filmmaker, I believe film is a powerful medium to make a
\nstatement. It's more effective than hearing a speech from a
\ngovernment official. And documentary filmmakers have an intention
\nto change our nation for the better through these stories on
\ninjustices,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Dian Herdiany, director of Indocs, a local documentary film
\ndevelopment organization, said, \"Of the 456 proposals we
\nreceived, over 85 percent speak about the relationship between
\nthe nation and its citizens, and they are always about injustice.
\nThis is why we set up this (pitching forum) to be broadcast on TV
\n-- to reach wider audiences, and thus a bigger response to the
\nnation's condition.\"<\/p>\n
\"Film is a creative tool that proves that a simple idea can
\nmake a big change,\" Andari said.<\/p>\n
And it is important that these films are made toward this end,
\nbecause beyond the pitching forum, the workshops and the filming,
\nthese documentaries will show this country a thing or two about
\nitself -- its unjust face.<\/p>\n
The five winning documentaries, Sejarah Negeri Yang
\nKalam\/Murky national history, Ksatria Kerajaan\/Knights of the
\nkingdom, Joki Kecil\/Little traffic jockey, Kernet Menantang
\nBahaya\/The assistant bus driver courts danger, Kami Juga Anak
\nIndonesia\/We're Indonesia's children too, and 11 behind-the-
\nscenes episodes will air weekly on Metro TV in November.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/young-documentarians-seek-justice-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}