A good film is one that touches many people: Riri

By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): What makes a good film? If you ask young director Riri Riza, the answer would probably be a work which touches many people. In short, a family movie.

"I really admire Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. Their film technique is tremendous, and the stories are touching," he said on a sidelines of a filmmaking workshop which he taught for high school students recently.

He cited Lucas' Star Wars, which he said was a metaphor for the problems faced by developing countries today.

What about an absurdist, surrealist film like Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich ?

"It's, er, good. But I don't find it exciting. It just doesn't touch me. That's all," said Riri, who is 30 and married.

Muhammad Rivai Riza, to give him his full name, sure is a nice guy, a family man, a veritable Dawson Leery of Dawson's Creek type of guy. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that.

His love for family can be seen in direction of Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventure), a musical drama starring child singer Sherina.

After a long period in the doldrums, the local film industry has received a much needed jolt from the huge popularity of the film, which was released on June 14 and is still playing in several theaters.

Riri said the film from Miles Production drew tickets sales of more than one million. With a budget of Rp 2 billion (US$250,000), it has earned Rp 12 billion (US$1.5 million) in box-office takings and merchandise sales.

"In the school holidays in October, we will rerelease the film so that people in remote regions will have a chance to see it."

He will not be here, however, because he will leave for England next month on a Chevening scholarship from the British government.

He will study for his M.A. in feature film writing at Royal Holloway University of London.

"I want to be a director who can communicate a screenplay," he said, adding that Indonesian films were marred by weak screenplays.

Riri seems to have made the right career choice, but he did not consider working in films until the end of high school.

"If I didn't get information about IKJ (Jakarta Arts Institute), I'd probably be a musician right now," he said.

He inherited his father's love of movies, but thoughts of pursuing a career in film did not cross his mind.

"In high school, I was only good at two things: music and organizing things," he said, smiling.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do in the future. All I knew was I didn't want to be an accountant or do other nine-to-five jobs."

Fortunately, his high school principal in SMA Lab School, Arief Rahman, was liberal and understanding.

"If it concerned arranging and organizing events like music festivals or something, he always asked me to do it," Riri said.

After graduation he heard about IKJ -- and jumped at the chance to enroll.

His career started off as a music video director for several artists, including three videos for Sherina.

He was involved in Kuldesak (1998), TV series Anak Seribu Pulau (Children of a Thousand Islands/1996) and Buku Catatanku (My Notebook/1997).

Beside music videos, Riri has also produced documentaries, television advertisements and public service messages.

"I can't recall how many advertisements I have made," he said.

His short, Sonata Kampung Bata (Bata Village Sonata), won the third prize in the Oberhausen Film Festival in Germany in 1994.

Riri shares the dream of many of his compatriots for a revival in the local film industry. He was happy to see the enthusiasm of the high school students in the workshop.

"I gave them the basic knowledge about writing screenplays and directing."

He said teenagers were a hard group to teach.

"On the one hand, I don't want them producing similar kinds of films. But on the other, they have to stick with the basic element of filmmaking, which is to tell a story."

The teenagers possessed abundant ideas, Riri added, but many of them might be too difficult to realize on film.

"I understand their excitement. They're very excited about making movies, without knowing that it's a very involved process to make them. But I'm very optimistic."

What about the next film in the pipeline?

Riri said he wanted to make a movie about a woman in a search for her self-identity.

Will it be a dark comedy suffused with metaphors and surreal imagery? Do not bet on it. With Riri at the film's helm, it is bound to have a happy ending.