Indonesian films feature strongly at Pusan
Paolo Bertolin, Contributor, Pusan, South Korea
Claiming to be the leader among Asian film events, Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened on Oct 6.
Taking curtain-raiser honors was Three Times by Taiwanese master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, a mesmerizing depiction of three romances played by the same actors, Shu Qi and Chang Chen, against the backdrop of different epochs in Taiwan's troubled history.
It is the 10th edition of the festival, which is held in the port city of Busan. The sheer number of films screened at the festival, its growing audience and international standing have made it one of East Asia's major film festivals, alongside the Tokyo and Hong Kong festivals.
Early on, a decision was made by its committee to not only spotlight Korea's own cinematic achievements but to take a regional focus. This choice was likely dictated by the costly task of competing with long-standing European events such as the Cannes, Venice and Berlin festivals.
PIFF officials have in fact successfully implemented a series of initiatives promoting Asian cinema, endorsing the search for new talent, rediscovering the hidden treasures of Asian film histories and pushing forward a new generation of filmmakers.
The festival is bolstered by the New Currents competition, which awards prizes to young Asian filmmakers' first and second feature films, as well as a prize for Asian Filmmaker of the Year.
It also incorporates a series of academic conferences focusing on production networking in Asia and the future of digital cinema and the international reception of Asian films, and, last but not least, the Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP).
A full-fledged market for quality film projects from all over Asia, PPP invites filmmakers wishing to find financing for their films, as well as perspective financiers, producers, sales agents and distributors not just from Asia, but from Europe and America.
Indonesia is represented at the 8th PPP too, with director Riri Riza seeking funds for his next production, 3 Days to Forever.
Riza will also introduce Korean audiences to his latest film, the ambitious Gie, a filmed biography of political activist Soe Hok Gie, starring Nicholas Saputra.
Saputra is very likely to attend the event as he also stars in Joko Anwar's crowd-pleaser Janji Joni, selected in the Window on Asian Cinema program.
PIFF has consistently paid attention to recent Indonesian filmmaking, previously screening Riza's Eliana Eliana, Nan T. Achnas' Whispering Sands and Ravi L. Bharwani's The Rainmaker. It has also featured a special program titled "Garin and the Next Generation: New Possibilities in Indonesian Cinema".
This pays homage to the work of Garin Nugroho and documents the resurgence of Indonesian film after a decade of virtual disappearance. Nugroho will be back in Busan once again this year with Of Love and Eggs, released in Indonesia late last year.
The Indonesian presence at the festival is rounded off by Rudi Soedjarwo's About Her plus two short films, Edwin's Kara, the Daughter of a Tree, and Vanni Jamin's The Standoff.
Most notably, there is also a tribute to Teguh Karya (1937- 2001), pioneer of arthouse cinema in Indonesia. Two of Karya's films will be screened, Ballad of the Man, his debut feature from 1972, and Behind the Mosquito Net (1983).
Director and actor Slamet Rahardjo Djarot, who starred in both of Karya's films and who is at the festival to revive the memory of Karya's contribution to Indonesian cinema, epitomized Karya's work as "a rendering of the fight between the marginalized and weak and the stronger powers".