Festival of Indonesian Cinema in Den Haag, continuing tradition

Festival of Indonesian Cinema in Den Haag, continuing tradition

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): The Hague, the capital of the Netherlands, is
hosting the Festival of Indonesian Cinema from April 23 to April
30.

Held at the city's Babylon Theater, the festival, which will
be accompanied by a photo exhibition of Indonesian architecture,
will screen a number of feature films as well as shorts.

Among the features are Tjoet Nya' Dhien by Eros Djarot,
Langitku Rumahku (My Sky My Home) by Slamet Rahardjo, Bulan
Tertusuk Ilalang (And the Moon Dances) by Garin Nugroho and
Kuldesak (Cul-de-sac) by Nan T. Achnas, Mira Lesmana, Riri Riza
and Rizal Mantovani.

The shorts being screened at the festival were made by
students from the School of Cinematography at the Jakarta
Institute of the Arts. The shorts are Langkah-Langkah Kecil
(Small Steps) by Yulianto Krisbiantono, Hanya Satu Hari (The Only
Day) by Nan T. Achnas, Kereta Pertama (The First Train) by Dicky
Irawan, Happy Ending by Harri Suharyadi, Sonata Kampung Bata
(Merry Go Round) by Riri Riza, Jakarta 468 by Ari Ibnuhajar, Novi
by Asep Kusdinar and Coda by Emir and Arif Pribadi.

The festival was launched by the Jakarta Institute of the Arts
and the Netherlands-Indonesia Forum with Holland's Ralph Welcer
and Indonesia's Pia Alisyahbana and Toeti Herati as the driving
force behind the festival.

How can a film festival benefit Indonesia? This is a good
question, especially considering that most of the films included
in the festival are not screened for the public in cinemas. In
other words, they are marginal or alternative films. These films
have made their names because they have won prizes or because
they have stirred controversy, but they have hardly ever been
screened in movie theaters. At this juncture another question, a
bit of a slogan, may be asked: How can works of arts benefit a
nation like Indonesia, and how can they be of any use to the
development of the country?

Questions like this are often posed by arts enthusiasts in
general and by film lovers in particular, especially among the
small groups of art and film lovers found amid the center of arts
activities in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Bali and a
number of other major cities in Indonesia. Are these questions
really relevant considering that the Festival of Indonesian Films
has long been discontinued?

If trying to find the answers to the above questions is
considered tantamount to searching for a parameter to evaluate
the use of films in relation to the living force of the nation,
or if there are no sufficient answers to these questions, then
alternative films and their festivals will become meaningless,
not only to this nation but also to film development itself. A
festival of alternative films will be nothing amid the problems
of the cultural industry. It will no longer be a priority in the
cultural and industrial strategy.

A festival as feast? Or, is it a venue for a work of art to be
introduced in a more proper manner so that it will not just be
kept on the shelf waiting for its turn in the "market"-oriented
distribution process?

In fact, a festival may also serve to foster appreciation and
at the same time be regarded as a test for a film so that it will
find its format in the community's evaluation. A festival can
also give a picture of the expertise of a nation in grasping the
mastery of the film medium for the exposition of aesthetic
aspirations in viewing growing problems of the nation. Therefore,
a festival may be very respectable because it seeks to fight for
human rights and the rights of aspirations through the media.

Film festivals in the world range in size. Some are grand,
others are small or medium-sized. Basically, however, all
festivals play a role in depicting a nation.

Considering the present circumstances, organizing a film
festival may be considered a feat. This is all the more so if
efforts are made to make a film festival something which will
survive and be enjoyed by the community. We may learn from film
festivals which have been held, and we can see that even major
festivals have their ups and downs.

The Festival of Indonesian Films was first organized in 1955
and the next was not held until 1960. Then there was no festival
for several years, until 1967. The festival was held annually
between 1973 and 1992. From 1993 until now no festival has been
held on the grounds that the country's film industry is
continuing to decline. In 1998 no more than a score of films were
produced in Indonesia, but those released were fewer than ten.

In fact, foreign film festivals have shown a good deal of
interest to screen Indonesian films. Unfortunately, what often
happens is that many filmmakers invited to send their films to
these festivals often do not want to run the risk of losing their
films going through customs at the airport. Some films sent to
foreign festivals have been considered imported goods when they
were sent home and could be collected only after paying a large
import duty. Because the filmmakers cannot afford to pay the
import duty, the films are simply lost.

It is worth taking into consideration at this junction that
owners of films and other works of art which are exhibited abroad
should be protected by the government. Films and other art works
exhibited abroad promote the country, especially when they are
covered by the foreign press. Their worth cannot, therefore, be
measured in terms of money.

Indeed, a film festival always entails a number of problems --
economic, political and many others.

To organize a film festival is an all-year-round effort. A
festival must be a continuous process because its survival will
be an important part of its success.

Take the Academy Awards. Oscars are awarded to the winners
every year in an interesting and spectacular ceremony. Most
important of all is the fact that it has be held since 1927 and
as such has provided great support to the United States' film
industry.

The first international film festival was held in Italy in
1932 and was known as the Venice Film Festival. This festival
became very prestigious in the 1960s but then lost its charm and
worth because of the festival director's inappropriate policies.
The original festival director, Luigi Chiariani, stressed that
winning films must be "art for arts sake". His successor, Ernest
Laura, proposed a change in the vision of the festival. Since
then the festival has lost its authority and was not held between
1972 and 1979.

The Cannes Film Festival was first organized in 1939 but was
not held until 1946 because of World War II. This festival has
also had its ups and downs. A change of schedule, namely from
spring 1950 to summer 1951, caused a small halt in the festival.
The festival was absent again in 1968 when France was rocked by
political demonstrations involving leading film directors such as
Goddard and Truffaut.

In the Netherlands, a film festival was held specially for
Indonesian films in 1992. It was coordinated by Maureen Pieters
and Ivonne Smits and was sponsored by Stichting Asian Cinema
Center and Het Nederlands Film Museum.

If the festival of Indonesian films in Holland can continue,
we must continue our efforts to make this festival a tradition.

The writer is a filmmaker and FIC curator.