Introverted filmmaker with an attitude

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At first, director Sekar Ayu Asmara refused to sit down for an interview.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not just you, I've never been willing to be profiled," she said.

She finally agreed to meet, as long as we stayed away from personal questions.

Sekar only recently gained prominence with the release last month of her first feature film, Biola Tak Berdawai (The Stringless Violin), which she wrote the script for and directed.

But Sekar has been around for much longer, mostly as a songwriter starting back in the '80s (she also wrote the lyrics for Biola's theme song).

Biola itself is a surprisingly watchable and unpretentious movie, with excellent cinematography and a haunting score. It is also a nice attempt to explore some complicated issues: handicapped children, rape and abortion.

Despite reports about her attitude on the set, Sekar turns out to be a fascinating, intellectual woman with wide ranging knowledge.

The following is an excerpt of the interview:

Question: How is Biola doing so far? Answer: Many people said they like it. It is doing OK, still being screened at the theaters. It is not a commercial movie but people are going (to see it). For me, as long as those who watch the film like it, fine. You also wrote the script. Why did you choose the issues explored in the film?

I always try to come up with something that other people are not producing. That is what drives me to write or do anything creative.

Basically, the idea is about a home where handicapped children are cared for. Other themes were developed later.

I got the idea after watching a news story on TV about babies who were being dumped.

The babies are dumped ... I guess because nowadays everything is available and open. Everybody is free to do what they want. Many people now consider morality to be old-fashioned. Whereas it's a matter of responsibility. People just want to have fun, but you have to be responsible for everything you do. Morality itself is a blurry idea. People like to cover things up in the name of morality.

Morality is for yourself, not for others. What sort of morality you hold on to in your life depends on yourself.

But please, do not portray me as a moralist, because I'm not. I'm no better or holier than anyone. I have tolerance for others. I just want people to be touched (by the film), so that they will think twice before they dump their babies. The film also talks about abortion. How do you view abortion?

It's a choice. A rather complicated matter, actually. But I think it's unfair to the babies. There are so many couples who want children but cannot conceive. So, are you more pro-choice or pro-life?

It's not a black-and-white issue. For me, in cases of rape where it can leave a huge trauma, fine. But if it's because of being careless when you have sex ... it's like you want to have fun, but when things get dirty you don't want to clean up. As a human being we just have to be responsible. This is, again, an issue of morality. The film talks a lot about women's issues. How do you see the position of Indonesian women now?

The problem is not with the women, but the men. I just think that women should be educated. If you are educated, you have more choices. The biggest challenge for Indonesian women is having to work two or three times as hard in this male-dominated world. Isn't there a double standard for women?

Double standards not only apply to women. Indonesians really, really, like to apply double standards for anything. It's OK for me to do this, but not OK for you. There's nothing that has ever been clear in this country.

Sadly, it seems that religion justifies that. Now Indonesians want to help the victims in Iraq just because they are fellow Muslims. Many Chinese have been killed, but do people care? Are you Muslim?

Supposedly. But I guess God is so much bigger than life, than any religion. Back to Biola, why is the character of Mbak Wid (played by Jajang C. Noer) so unnecessarily histrionic?

Because she has to be insane like that. She changes by night, from doctor to psychic. Whenever she gets into the second character she has to be theatrical.

Apparently she needs that ... being theatrical. She was raised in a tough environment as her mother is a prostitute. She needs escapism. That's why she always relates everything to Mahabharata. That was her only escape, the story she read as a child. Do you like wayang (traditional puppet) stories?

Oh yes. For me, Mahabharata is the best literature ever. It tells you about life, about human character ... there is so much philosophy in it. In the story, nobody's perfect. Even the Pandawa, who is always glorified, after the end of the war they don't win. Ditto with Duryudana, the head of Kurawa. While he is considered the bad guy, he has such loyalty. Did you study film at school?

No, it was self-taught. I did go to several colleges, both here and abroad (Sekar's father was a diplomat -- ed.), but I never completed any of them. Nothing worked for me. I think the greatest teacher is experience and life itself.

It all started from writing, basically. I worked in advertising for years but it was very commercial. And then I stumbled into the music scene. The first song I wrote that was recorded and released was for Fariz RM, called Susie Bhelel (The song appeared on Fariz' 1989 album Fashionova -- ed.). You also wrote lyrics for the singer Ubiet?

Yes, I wrote all the lyrics for her album Archipelagongs (2000). I used to write songs too, but now I specialize in lyrics. Because so many Indonesian can write good music, but few of them write good lyrics. The words then become meaningless. The album Archipelagongs is about a journey across the Indonesian archipelago, right?

Yes. This country is so beautiful. If I had a choice, I'd rather travel all over Indonesia. At least once a year I need to go into the wilderness. I've been to Aceh, very beautiful. I've gone to remote places, digging the culture, not just as a tourist.

In such places, people are much more sincere. People are really into their beliefs, very down to earth ... how much they value nature. How did you get into filmmaking?

I had been doing a lot of commercials for my own company, and I did a video clip for the Kla Project song Tak Bisa Ke Lain Hati (Can't switch to another heart).

I've always wanted to do film, but I didn't want my script to be censored by the ministry of information. You know, when the ministry still existed every script had to pass through it. I mean, who are they to judge whether a script is worth filming or not. I have been writing scripts, but Biola is the first script to be filmed. What about television, not interested?

Never. Not because of the medium, but because of the work ethic. How can you expect to come up with something good if the emphasis on commercial value is so high? For television, everything is about ratings. If you want to make something, you have to produce something that you like, not what the market wants, what is in. So make something different.

I've spent too many years in the commercial field, so I needed to sharpen my senses. The senses, soul are the most important things in creating something. Do you write poetry as well?

I love poetry, but it's a different kind of craft, it's difficult. Song lyrics are not poetry and shouldn't be poetry. Because poetry uses words that, my goodness, are uncommon and you can't sing them. It's a totally different craft. How do you feel working in a film industry that still hasn't established itself?

It's just the same with working in any creative field. I think the filmmakers are doing a good job in getting things moving. It's the government that should help us. Number one, they should get rid of the taxes so that films are no longer included among luxury goods. People are unwilling to make films because the cost is high, because of the taxes for the material. What kind of films do you like to watch?

I like to watch all kinds of films but my passion, above all, is musicals. My obsession is to make a musical. Actually, the first script that I wrote was a musical. But it can't be produced because the cost is very high. Even if the money was there, are the human resources available to make a musical?

It's easier because there are dozens of singing talents. The problem is the cost. Because you have to rehearse, record, which costs way more than the production costs. Also, my film would have to be shot in this certain location, otherwise it wouldn't work. It's far away, outside of Java.

No, I'm not gonna tell you where it is (laughs). Why does it have to be there? I have an urge that everybody should know about this place. This place is very important in our culture, in why we have become what we have become. No, I'm not telling you (laughs). All of the songs have already completed, by the way. What is your next project?

Can't tell you yet (laughs). Well, it's about an obsessive love. Love that can really turn into something... obsessive. That's all.