Focusing on films from the edge

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