Comedy serial 'Mat Angin' sweeps 11 awards

JAKARTA (JP): The winners almost took all as comedy serial Mat Angin lassoed eleven awards and TV drama Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan (Along Memory Lane) roped in eight at the Festival Sinetron Indonesia here last night.

Mat Angin, a miniseries about a poor, opinionated Betawi man, his panicky wife and their boastful neighbors, won the Vidia Utama trophy, given to the best sinetron (television miniseries and melodramas) of the year.

Mat Angin won the award for best comedy serial, while its star Deddy Mizwar personally grabbed two awards, for best director and lead actor in the comedy serials category. The TPI serial also won the awards for supporting best actor, TV playwright, scriptwriter, cinematography, artistic arrangement, editing, and sound.

Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan, a TV drama which has not yet been aired although it was screened for the jury, came second in terms of the number of awards it collected. The drama about an unloved deviant-turned-psychopath won eight awards, including for best sinetron in the drama category.

The surprise of the evening was the award in the best drama serial category which went to Jajang C. Noer's Bukan Perempuan Biasa (No Ordinary Woman). The serial had received low ratings and had been largely dismissed by most TV critics. Jajang went up to the stage twice on behalf of her late husband Arifin C. Noer who won the awards for best playwright and scriptwriter.

A total of 39 awards were given out in the star-studded festival at RCTI's Studio 4. The venue was chosen by the organizers to avoid extravagance at a time of economic crisis. Last year it was held at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Debby Sahertian and Titi Dwijayati, who emceed the show, failed to liven up the event, with their jokes falling flat. Some of the songs performed, however, saved the evening, particularly those by AB Three, Andre Hehanussa and Paramitha Rusady, and Shakila.

After presenting the Vidia Utama trophy, Minister of Information Hartono appealed to the fledgling TV serial industry to strive for quality ahead of the free trade era in Southeast Asia in 2003.

Underscoring the new Broadcasting Law which requires TV stations to fill 70 percent of their air time with locally produced programs, Hartono said networks would require a lot more sinetrons.

He hoped that the rapid growth of production houses will lead to the rebirth of the country's film industry which has been in the doldrums the past few years.

In spite of the higher number of entries for this year's competition, there were few winners last night with most of the accolades going to Mat Angin and Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan.

Ayu Azhari won the best actress in a TV drama award for the second year running, this time for her role in Perkawinan Siti Zubaedah. The best actor award went to J.B. Wijaya for his part in Menyusuri Bayangan Diri

Chiata Hendrayani won the award for best actress in the comedy serial Fatima.

A bad foot forced him attend on crutches, but it was a memorable night nevertheless for Hanny Saputra, director of Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan. Not only did his first production win the best sinetron in the drama category, he also won the award for best director.

The winners were selected from 132 titles and 889 episodes. (02)

List of selected winners (Fiction)

Sinetron: Mat Angin

Comedy serial: Mat Angin

Drama: Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan

Drama serial: Bukan Perempuan Biasa

Actor (comedy): Deddy Mizwar (Mat Angin)

Actor (drama): J.B. Wijaya (Menyusuri Bayangan Diri)

Actress (comedy): Chiata Hendrayani (Fatima)

Actress (drama): Ayu Azhari (Perkawinan Siti Zubaedah)

Supporting actor (comedy): Eddy Oglek (Mat Angin)

Supporting actor (drama): Sandy Nayoan (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Supporting actress (comedy): Yurike Prastika (Fatima)

Supporting actress (drama): Dessy Ratnasari (Bukan Perempuan Biasa)

Director (comedy): Deddy Mizwar (Mat Angin),

Director (drama): Hanny R Saputra (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Sound (comedy): Agustino (Mat Angin)

Sound (drama): Abdul Azis (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Artistic Arrangement (comedy): Dena Taufik (Mat Angin)

Artistic Arrangement (drama): Kekev R (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Cinematography (comedy): Arli AR (Mat Angin)

Cinematography (drama): Yudi Datau (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Scriptwriter (comedy): Fahrurrozi (Mat Angin)

Scriptwriter (drama): Arifin C Noer (Bukan Perempuan Biasa)

Playwright (comedy): Wahyu HS (Mat Angin)

Playwright (drama): Arifin C Noer (Bukan Perempuan Biasa)

Musical arrangement (comedy): Melyco (Fatima)

Musical arrangement (drama): Dian AGP (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

Editing (comedy): Demi Gisela-Team (Mat Angin)

Editing (drama): Wawan I Wibowo (Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan)

List of winners (Non-fiction)

Documentary: RCTI's Tragedi Kecelakaan Pesawat Garuda 152

Semi-documentary: Menyibak Cakrawala, Menguak Bianglala

Quiz Show: TVRI's Siapa Dia -- Episode Pengacara

Talk Show: ANteve's Debat Terbuka : Mencari Model Kampanye Pemilu

Educative/Informative Show: Bumiku Sati -- Episode : Air

Culture/Tourism Show: TVRI's Legenda Di Balik Bayangan Purba

The Chaidir Rahman award winner for best sinetron critic: Andy Nur Aminah of Republika

The Vidia special award winners for TV stations airing the most Indonesian sinetrons : TPI and RCTI.