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.