Garin latest film to Cannes Festival

By Marselli Sumarno

JAKARTA (JP): Asih is a middle-aged woman separated from her husband. She has settled in Yogyakarta and earns a living making batik. She has no children of her own but takes care of three teenage boys.

The three boys live life in the harshness of a big city. They grow up on the streets, looking for money as shoeshine boys, newspaper vendors or whatever job they can get. All is done to survive. However, the city's harshness is their end.

Their deaths are in sharp contrast to an apparently quiet daily life. Moreover, Yogyakarta is known as a cultural city with a strong attraction for tourists, domestic as well as foreign.

This bitter story is the theme of Daun di Atas Bantal (Leaf on A Pillow), the fourth film by young director Garin Nugroho. Asih is played by talented Christine Hakim, who has been absent from the Indonesian screen for some time. She is also the film's producer.

Daun di Atas Bantal will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 13 to May 24. Garin and Christine will attend this most prestigious of film festivals.

The Cannes Film Festival is divided into four categories of adjudications: Special Focus, Main Competition, International Critic Week and Director's Fortnight.

Ten years ago, Eros Djarot's biopic Tjoet Nya Dhien, which details the life of an Acehnese heroine who led a rebellion against the Dutch in the late 19th century, was screened at the festival. The film, coincidentally, also starred Christine Hakim, and was entered in the International Critics Week category. This category's aim is to present the first or second work of young directors. Daun di atas Bantal is included in the Special Focus category.

In the main category, Main Competition, an international jury will assess the already very strictly selected films. This year, chairman of the jury for official selection is famous Hollywood director Martin Scorsese.

If the International Critics Week category is eager to find young directors, the Special Focus category has in view the characteristic colors of a director's expression. In short, it focuses on a director's personal style. Records show that Special Focus has the most viewers and has gradually become a serious competitor for the Main Competition. Often, films are even suitable for inclusion in the Main Competition category.

The fourth category, Director's Fortnight, offers a screening opportunity to filmmakers who experience bans or censorship in showing their films in their home countries.

Garin says that the acceptance of Daun di atas Bantal at the festival is something to be proud of. He has participated in a variety of festivals but their selection has not been as strict as in Cannes. He also feels lucky that he could send his film in time for the deadline.

Daun di atas Bantal, shot in September last year, was not smooth in the making, technically speaking. One hundred cans of film were used for retakes because a damaged camera flawed the film.

Inevitably, production costs went up. Total production cost was Rp 1.5 billion. This included aid worth US$50,000 provided by a foundation affiliated with the Rotterdam film festival in the Netherlands.

Consequently, Daun di atas Bantal must also be circulated in the international market. It is Garin's hope that after the Cannes Film Festival, the film will be circulated in Indonesia. The international market is being explored. Japan is willing to buy the film's circulation rights for Japanese cinemas.

Garin has received many film awards but none of his films has been a commercial success. To date, his second and third films, Surat untuk Bidadari (A Letter for An Angel) and Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (And The Moon Dances) have not found their way into cinemas. They have been shown on national television.

Is he optimistic about the marketing of his latest film?

Responding with a smile, Garin said: "In my opinion, this one is the most narrative of my films.

"My previous films were contemplative with characteristic pictures as illustration. Daun di atas Bantal has an easy-to- follow story. However, I hope my contemplative characteristic is also present in the story."

The writer is a lecturer at the School of Films and Television, Jakarta Arts Institute.