Garin dreams of elevating film distribution
Garin dreams of elevating film distribution
John Badalu, Contributor, Jakarta
Securing an interview with Garin Nugroho these days is
surprisingly easy. Although he is busy preparing his latest film
(he declines to describe the plot or even give the title of the
film), he looks relatively relaxed.
When the country's film industry was declare dead in the early
1990s, Garin released the poetic film Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti
(Love in a Slice of Bread). He soon gained international
attention with his first feature, and became the leader of
Indonesia's New Wave directors.
With a number of domestic and international awards under his
belt, Garin Nugroho is moving forward with a number of
interesting projects.
The last film he released was back in May, Rembulan di Ujung
Dahan (The Moon at the Edge of a Branch). Although Rembulan di
Ujung Dahan was made for eventual airing on TV, it was premiered
last May for a limited audience, especially students.
The reaction wasn't all that positive. A number of people in
the audience suggested that Garin had lost his magic touch, and
some others opined that the film was just a waste of time.
He didn't let these criticisms slow him down, and recently
took part in the anniversary celebration of the Goethe-Institute,
screening three of his films, launching a book and putting
together an exhibition of photos taken from the sets of his
films.
Garin remains as excited and dedicated to his work as ever. We
will just have to wait for his next creation.
Question: What was the idea behind the making Rembulan di
Ujung Dahan?
Answer: I just thought that there are a lot of Indonesian films being
made these days. But while a lot of young filmmakers are in the
process of shooting films, almost none of them are making films
for children.
Riri Riza did Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventure) a
couple of years ago and it was such a big hit. I see that a lot
of children are longing for films that are made for them. You can
see a lot of TV programs are targeting children too, but they are
just entertainment programs. Nothing really educative.
I made Rembulan di Ujung Dahan for children, for teenagers.
I've been wanting to make a film for children that not only has
entertainment value, but is also educative. I'm trying to raise
awareness about environmental issues. This is the door that I
would like to open through filmmaking.
Q: What's the story about?
A: It's a classic story. There is a jungle in the middle of a big
city. A young man runs an education center in that jungle. There
is a legend in that jungle, that when the moon is full a man and
a woman will meet on the bridge and fall in love. It's poetic,
like my previous films. Then there is a businesswoman who wants
to demolish the jungle and turn it into big shopping mall. I'm
not going into details.
Q: What's your next project?
A: Shooting a feature film in Irian Jaya. I'm still working on
the concept at the moment. I always like to tell a story of one
local community and their reaction and adaptation to
globalization.
Q: Any obsessions besides making films?
A: I'm working on it at the moment. I'd like to develop community
TV programs for people in remote areas. I want to provide TV
programs for some villages, for the locals to integrate and
socialize among themselves.
I also do a lot of workshops, education programs for young and
potential filmmakers. In the future, I'd like to write a book
about film, media and sociopolitical issues.
Q: What do you think of the Indonesian film industry at the
moment?
A: I am very happy about it actually. The technology of the
digital camera is advancing very quickly. People are starting to
get bored with TV programs. A lot of young new directors are
appearing. They are quite idealistic and dare to express
themselves. So the euphoria of creation is extraordinary. I
admire Riri Riza's new film Eliana, Eliana. Nan Achnas and Hany
Saputra also have a lot of potential.
Q: You recently released a book. Can you tell us a bit about it?
A: The book is called Membaca Film Garin (Reading Garin's Films).
It was written by many people in the film industry. It's a study
of my films, and each writer gives quite a personal point of
view. Reading this book, people will be better able to understand
my films, and will also learn about the filmmaking process.
Q: Who are your favorite directors?
A: I love Italian and Iranian film directors in the neorealism
theme. I love Woody Allen for his landscapes and knowledge of
city life. Kieslowski's romanticism and Peter Weir. From
Indonesia, I admire Teguh Karya and Syumanjaya.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: I'm mad about soccer. You bet that I spent a lot of time
watching the World Cup recently. I also like to read a lot. My
father is a publisher, so since I was very young I have been
reading a lot of serious books, while other children my age were
still playing around. My brother is an artist, so I have been
exposed to the art world since I was a kid.
My dream in the future is to create a new channel of film
distribution. Maybe through schools and TV.