IKOHI East Java: ‘The Sea Speaks Its Name’ Is Relevant to Young People

Surabaya (ANTARA) – The East Java chapter of the Association of Families of Missing Persons (IKOHI) says the film The Sea Speaks Its Name is relevant to educating young people about the history of activist abductions and human rights violations in the run-up to the 1998 Reformasi.

“The film is an important means of passing on knowledge, particularly about past human rights violations, to young people today,” IKOHI East Java chairman Dandik Katjasungkana said in Surabaya on Sunday.

Dandik said the film, adapted from a novel by Leila S. Chudori, could serve as an entry point for young people to understand the abduction and enforced disappearance of activists in 1998. Although it is a work of fiction, its story is based on historical facts.

He said the enthusiasm among young people for The Sea Speaks Its Name was encouraging.

IKOHI had supported Leila during the novel’s research process, involving several victims of activist abductions, particularly in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Dandik added. The organisation also helped support the novel’s launch in 2017, which was accompanied by a screening of a short film lasting about 25 minutes.

Dandik said the film could encourage young people to seek credible sources of information to understand the history of human rights violations in Indonesia.

He said the film’s relevance was even greater given the current political climate. He cited cases of repression against activists, the arrest of students during demonstrations, and issues involving human rights violations and environmental damage as reasons why learning about history was important.

“These repeated human rights violations occur because there has been no legal or political accountability for those responsible. There is no legal precedent for prosecuting perpetrators of gross human rights violations,” he said.

Dandik said a just resolution for victims was essential to preventing abuses from happening again. By understanding history, young people were expected to play a part in advancing respect for human rights.

Meanwhile, The Sea Speaks Its Name director Yosep Anggi Noen said the film dealt with the past, which continues to leave unresolved issues, including cases of missing people and human rights violations.

He said the film was intended to offer the public a window through which to revisit unresolved history.

A clearer understanding of history, he said, was one of the foundations for building a better future.

The Sea Speaks Its Name premiered in Busan, South Korea, on 11 October 2026 and is scheduled to open in cinemas across Indonesia on 29 October 2026.