Focusing on films from the edge

Film Pinggiran, Antologi Film Pendek, Film Experimental & Film Dokumenter (Alternative Films: An Anthology of Short, Experimental and Documentary Films); By Gotot Prakosa; Published by FFTV-IKJ (The Jakarta Arts Institute's Film and Television Department)-YLP, Jakarta l997; 221 + xxx pp.

JAKARTA (JP): Most filmmakers -- and moviegoers -- in Indonesia or anywhere else in the world grow up watching Hollywood films. That's the source of almost all their film vocabulary and standards.

Hollywood's blockbusters bring dinosaurs and alien creatures to life, stage action scenes rich in high-tech special effects and tug at our hearts with melodrama and comedy. Add to this glittering stars and the box office often sells tickets like hotcakes.

There are still a lot of people who are unaware that cinema works vary in format, techniques and mediums. Films are not only produced on celluloid for wide-screen movies, but they also appear in diverse formats such as television, video and lately on CD-Rom.

Films can be made as feature-length productions, shorts (less than 30 minutes), documentaries, in experimental formats, art cinema, animation and commercials.

Gotot Prakosa, a film director and lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute's Film and Television Department, tries to promote greater awareness of diverse cinema forms and traditions other than Hollywood's formulas through his book Alternative Films: An Anthology of Short, Experimental and Documentary Films.

In the book, Gotot provides insight and analysis on alternative films fueled by the European "new wave" cinema movement.

The writer starts his book with the rise of alternative films in the international film world. Gotot also tries to summarize the existing and most acceptable definitions of alternative cinema works.

The movement started in European countries like France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Poland and Russia and brought about substantial changes in producing movies.

Between the l950s and the l970s, revolutionary cinematographers such as Roberto Rossellini and Federico Fellini (Italy), Ingmar Bergman (Sweden), Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard, Claude Chaebrol (France), Rainer Werner, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders (Germany) introduced distinguished moviemaking styles which challenged the commercial and aesthetic dominance of Hollywood.

These directors demonstrated that big-budget studios, well- known stars and the rest Hollywood clings dearly to were no longer necessary to create a good film. The important legacy of these filmmakers was the radical break in the style of cinema which they initiated. Fragmenting, improvising and often dispensing with the rules of cinematography were their trademarks.

Such films were then presented to the world through magazines, books and various international film festivals starting from the Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Russian and Toronto film festivals spreading to a lot more forums for alternative movies.

The new wave cinema also swept over Asian countries, including Japan, China and India. Prominent Asian filmmakers such as Japan's Akira Kurosawa, China's Chen Kaige and Zang Yimou and India's Nira Nair fascinated the Western world with their distinctive and exotic cinematic approaches.

Most of these prominent directors started their movie careers by producing short films and documentaries before they concentrated on feature-length movies.

Short films, documentaries and experimental films also captivated the more contemporary filmmakers in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Although shorts and documentaries were already recognized in Indonesia since the Dutch colonial period in the early 20th century, the urge to make these kinds of works was propelled by the collapse of the national film industry in the l980s. The growth of private television stations and unfair distribution systems were blamed for ruining the industry.

Impressive shorts and documentaries were produced by noted filmmakers such as Slamet Rahardjo (Southern Wind, Omnibus with a Japanese director), Teguh Karya (Alang Alang) and the late Arifin C. Noer. The more contemporary filmmakers, many of them graduates of the Jakarta Arts Institute, include the writer (Gotot), Garin Nugroho, Harry Suharyadi, Nan Triveni Achnas, Rizal Mantovani, Mira Lesmana and Marselli Sumarno.

Gotot mentions in the book that these young and aspiring cinematographers have made a compelling cross-cultural leap.

Their works have been screened in various international film festivals around the world. They have been very active in various world-scale film forums, placing Indonesia on the international alternative film scene.

Garin's Daun di Atas Bantal (A Leaf on a Pillow) was recently shown in this year's Cannes Festival. His previous work Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (And the Moon Dances) was named the best film in the Singapore Film Festival. The works of Nan and Harry and Gotot have also won various international awards.

As a filmmaker himself, Gotot understands the problems he and his colleagues face in producing quality works. They are completely autonomous. They must keep their costs down and their ideas flowing.

Problems dealing with funding, production and distribution are clearly revealed in this book. Money is the main problem for young directors in making quality films.

Gotot suggests the state should provide subsidies. In neighboring countries like Singapore and the Philippines, for example, the government provides a broad framework of support, including money and facilities, for young directors to make their debut films, especially shorts and documentaries.

In Indonesia, such a scheme would seem impossible to implement given the current economic situation.

In addition to money problems, distribution of such films is indeed difficult. Neither distributors nor exhibitors -- and consequently audiences -- show much of an interest.

Generally, shorts, documentaries and experimental films contain very high aesthetic values, yet they are usually commercial failures. International festivals, cultural centers, cine-clubs, galleries and universities are the most common places to screen these types of films.

Unfortunately, they can hardly penetrate the mainstream movie theaters. As a result, these works only capture a very small audience.

News that the 21 theater group, which has long controlled the distribution of domestic and foreign films, has screened Garin's Daun Di Atas Bantal and will soon show Kul De Sak by four young filmmakers including Mantovani and Nan is very encouraging.

As Gotot admits himself, this book only incorporates limited information on the international and domestic alternative cinema scene. He encourages others to conduct a more thorough study on the subject.

Gotot's efforts, however, must be praised. His book is worth reading, especially for those interested in studying and obtaining more knowledge on the rapid development of cinema techniques and the industry.

-- Rita A. Widiadana