Garin optimistic on ailing local film industry
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): People may say that Indonesian cinema industry is dead, but Garin Nugroho presses forward in his role as one of the country's most prolific and talented movie directors.
Indonesia's once flourishing film industry has been in a sorry state since l991, when the industry stopped producing good films. That year also marked the end of the country's prestigious film festivals which yielded the best performers in the country. It was also the time when Hollywood and Mandarin films began flooding domestic cinemas and pushing aside local products.
In the face of Hollywood's imperialism and the domination of local movie "politicians", who have taken control of domestic cinemas and film distribution, Garin is convinced that he and other young filmmakers can provide audiences with an alternative by creating low-budget movies with refreshingly new themes apart from sex and violence.
Born in Yogyakarta in l961, Garin started his film career by producing short films, documentaries, music videos and commercials in the late l980s. He began making feature films a few years later.
Garin's Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a Slice of Bread) won him a Citra, a local version of Oscar, for best film and best director in the l991 Citra Film Festival.
He could have used the success of Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti as a springboard for a more commercial project. Instead, he made artistic films like Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (.. And the Moon Dances) and Surat Untuk Bidadari (A Letter to an Angel), which were not screened in local cinemas but won him international praise.
Ignored by local movie businessmen, Garin did well on the international movie scene. In l996, Garin's Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang grabbed five prestigious awards at the International Berlin Film Festival, the Nantes Film Festival in France, as well as the Singapore and Japan film festivals. His other feature film, Surat Untuk Bidadari, won him the Carridi D' Oro Award for best film at the 1994 Italian Film Festival in Taormina, Italy. His documentary on Bali earned him a special award as the best tourism documentary at the Fotokino Film Festival in Koln, Germany.
Collaborating with Mira Lesmana, he produced and directed an impressive semi-documentary television series of Indonesian children Anak Seribu Pulau (Children of the Thousand Islands). He is frequently involved in various movie projects with both domestic and foreign institutions, including Japanese television station NHK.
Presently, Garin is working on his latest project, Angin Rumput Savana (The Wind in the Savanna Grass), jointly funded by John Hopkins University of the United States and the local education TV station Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI). The film is to be screened on TPI in April.
In conjunction with National Film Day today, The Jakarta Post asked Garin for his views on and hopes for the current domestic film industry. The following is an excerpt from the interview:
Question: What is the most pressing problem in the domestic film industry?
Answer: There are different perceptions those in the industry and the government with regard to the domestic film industry.
Industrialists want movies with big kicks and fast returns, while the majority of those in the film business want to create artistic movies. The government, which has the authority to bridge the wide gap between businessmen and artists and to support the development of local film activity, does not carry out its role properly.
Q: Do you see any possibility for these three parties to compromise?
A: For the time being, a compromise is still out of reach. Businessmen dominate the film industry from production to distribution. They set their own film-making criteria, which, according to them, are fit for a mass audience. People who want to survive in the movie world have to follow the concepts and the results are obvious.
Action-thrillers, slapstick comedies and sex are the best combination for a marketable film. These businessmen get a lot of money but at the same time they are ruining the film industry and deceiving the people.
In my opinion, the government has done little to improve the condition and is in the corner of these businessmen. The ailing domestic film industry is aggravated by film distribution being monopolized by certain group.
Q: Given the monopoly, do you think our film industry can be revived?
A: I am pretty sure that it will face serious problems with its networking system in the near future. Currently, the group distribute only imported films from Hong Kong and Hollywood.
The audience will sooner or later get tired of these films and demand a greater variety, including quality Indonesian and foreign films. Hardly any art films from Asian or European countries enter Indonesian cinemas.
Today, people can still watch Indonesian erotic movies or Indian films in second-rate cinemas and art films in cultural centers. If we maintain this system, Indonesia will never have a film industry, while film industries in our neighboring countries, like Singapore, Malaysia and even war-torn Vietnam, are growing significantly.
Q: What should movie people and the government do to help revive the local film industry?
A: They can do many things because they have money and access to political power. They can, for instance, build just one art cinema in the country to show the movies of talented filmmakers. I am sure that the impact on the development of local films will be great.
A large number of new-generation directors, actors and producers will probably emerge in the domestic movie scene and give audiences a broader selection of movies.
The film industry in France has survived Hollywood's hegemony because its government, businesses and artists work closely together to help the industry grow. The French government, for example, protects local films and provides substantial subsidies. We can learn from how France manages its movie business.
Q: Does the ailing film industry affect your artistic ventures?
A: My works do not depend on the market. I'm trying to build up the domestic film industry with quality art films. My films are not commercially viable and it is very difficult to find people who want to risk their money to produce art cinema. Yet I feel so grateful that there are still some people and enterprises who have supported my projects. Making a good film is not just a matter of money. It requires artistic and technological skills.
For me, the collapse of the Indonesian film industry is a natural process. Almost every country, including the United States with its Hollywood charms, Britain, France, Italy, India, Japan and Hong Kong, also underwent ups and downs in their film industries. I see it as a transition to a better and more mature industry.
Q: Do you think you can survive in the movie world by insisting on making art films?
A: I try hard to resist any temptation to make commercial films. I contribute to the Indonesian film industry by entering my works in international film festivals. Time will prove that the world trend is moving towards art works rather than Hollywood's action- thrillers. This year's Academy Award nominees were mostly serious works from independent studios.
(In this year's Academy Awards, four of the five nominations for best picture -- The English Patient, Fargo, Secrets and Lies and Shine -- were released by independent companies. Only Jerry Maguire came from TriStar, and The English Patient came out as the biggest winner with nine Oscars including the best picture, the best director and the best supporting actress).
At present, the glittering Hollywood industry is reaching its saturation point. Hollywood has lost its artistic talents. Independent studios like Miramax have brought new formulas to market-oriented Hollywood.
Q: What can we learn from this?
A: The film industry needs innovative ideas and new formulas to keep it alive. When bright ideas are discouraged and repressed, sooner or later you will lose the ability to produce a competitive product.
The giant film studios in Hollywood realize the great potential of these independent studios and are willing to financially support the projects of small studios and help distribute them worldwide.
In Indonesia, movie "politicians" are too arrogant or perhaps ignorant. But when our film industry is in ruins, they will try to find a scapegoat.
Q: Do you think young independent filmmakers in Indonesia will eventually dominate the local film industry?
A: There are a lot of young talented film workers who are able to fund their own projects. Many of them have worked in television and multimedia, and are adaptable to the newest film-making technologies. I've learned a lot from them and I'm sure they will become key figures in Indonesia's 21st century movie industry. The current Kul-de-sak film project being carried out by young directors like Mira Lesmana, Nan Triveni Achnas, Rizal Mantovani is an important point in the revival of the Indonesian film industry.
Q: Are you ready to face fiercer competition?
A: A good soldier will always be on alert, so to say. I consider myself a soldier. In time when the national film industry is ruined, I will update myself. I keep creating and working. I think this is a good time for self-improvement.
Q: How do you see Indonesian cinema in the 21st century?
A: I hope the 21st century will se a revival of the domestic movie industry. At present, we have entered a television era and are running it to its peak. Television stations are growing fast, with each trying to offer the best programs.
When the TV industry becomes saturated, people may return to producing big screen movies. I predict that in 2001, the local film industry will be revived. The format of the coming film industry will be totally different.
When the time comes, dozens of filmmakers, animators and producers working for television could join together to rebuild the ailing local film industry.
Q: Why are you so confident that our film industry will be revitalized by people in the TV industry?
A: Hollywood's glory was revived in the l980s by persons like Steven Spielberg who came from the TV generation.
Q: What is your obsession?
A: I would love to establish qualified film study centers in each of Indonesia's 27 provinces where people can study cinematography.
If we want to rejuvenate our film industry, we should have more than one institute for a film and television education. The Jakarta Arts Institute is not enough to groom talented filmmakers and artists.