'Fatahillah': A must see film for Jakartans

'Fatahillah': A must see film for Jakartans

JAKARTA (JP): Another Brave Heart? No, but the gala premiere
of Fatahillah, The Battle of Jayakarta, was as good as the
Hollywood Oscar-winning film which starred Mel Gibson, according
to some local people.

Fatahillah depicts a heroic Islamic figure in the 16th century
who recaptures Batavia, then the name of Jakarta, during a bloody
war against Portuguese colonial troops.

The premiere, which took place downtown at the Jakarta Theater
Wednesday night, was attended by Vice President Try Sutrisno and
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, who was also producer of the movie.

Executive Producer H.M Johan Tjasmadi, currently the chairman
of the Film Control Agency, said Fatahillah was a must-see movie
for all Jakartans. "Fatahillah is as good as the Oscar-winning
movie, Brave Heart," he said.

The Rp 2.5 billion (US$1.02 million) movie, sponsored by the
municipality, was made in conjunction with the 470th anniversary
of the capital on June 22. It will be simultaneously screened at
100 cinemas, in 13 of the country's 27 provinces on June 20.

Portuguese conquered the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511 and then
established a trading post at Sunda Kelapa, at the northern tip
of Jakarta. Fatahillah, a leader from the Sultanate of Demak in
Central Java, succeeded in expelling the Portuguese from Sunda
Kelapa port on June 22, 1527. Since then, the name Sunda Kelapa
was changed to Jayakarta (present day Jakarta), which means "the
city of victory".

In a related development, Minister of Education and Culture
Wardiman Djojonegoro said on Wednesday he expected the colossal
and appealing movie would bolster the national film industry and
encourage Indonesian movie producers.

"Hopefully, many Jakartans will want to watch the movie,"
Wardiman said. "This is one of the milestones of a new Indonesian
cinematographic era."

Misbach Yusa Biran, a well-known local author and chairman of
the Indonesian Movie Archives, wrote the screenplay, while Uka
Tjandrasasmita, an anthropologist, supervised the movie. (10)