JIFFest back for the fourth time
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The time has come for movie buffs to enjoy quality movies from around the globe as the fourth annual Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFest) will kick off on Thursday, all the way to Nov. 3, presenting some 120 films from 29 countries.
The films will be screened at Pusat Perfilman Usmar Ismail (PPHUI), Erasmus Huis and Gedung Dua8 in South Jakarta; Graha Bhakti Budaya at the Ismail Marzuki arts center, New Goethe Institute, Bali Room Hotel Indonesia, TIM 21 and Senayan 21 movie theaters, and Instituto Italiano di Cultura -- all in Central Jakarta.
Indian drama Monsoon Wedding, by leading director Mira Nair, will kick off the festival at the outdoor amphitheater of Museum Nasional, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 12, Central Jakarta, for invited guests only on Thursday night.
Presenting a brush of Indian contemporary life with traditional values, the film won the Golden Lion at last year's Venice International Film Festival and was a surprise hit at the American box office.
As there has always been a specific main theme for the festival; this year's presents "Multiculturalism: Celebrating Diversity", with a selection of strong films that cover issues ranging from the clash of civilization to displacement, Diaspora and indigenous people.
One of the films is Dans Tanovic's No Man's Land, a feature debut about the Balkan conflict, recognized as Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards.
Other films that match the theme are Beneath the Clouds from Australian Ivan Sen, about a half-Aboriginal girl, and Sherine Salama's Wedding Ramalah, the first Australian film on Palestine.
Other highlights include 2002 Cannes Jury prizewinner, Ella Suleiman's Divine Intervention, about a Palestinian couple separated by the nations' border.
For its fourth running, JIFFest collaborates with the Yap Thiam Hien human rights award in presenting a selection of films with a human rights theme.
"This is the second year of the human rights section. We've decided that human rights will be a regular section in JIFFest. It is also the purpose from the Yap Thiam Hien award to spread the issue of human rights through film, as it is an effective medium," said festival cofounder Shanty Harmayn.
The section features films such as Edet Belzber's Children Underground, the winner of Best Documentary at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, which portrays the lives of five runaway children in Romania.
Another regular section in the festival is New Indonesian Cinema, with a focus on emerging Indonesian filmmaking in the documentary field.
JIFFest is premiering several documentaries, such as Lexy Junior Rambadeta's 2.5 Billion Dollars for the State and Gadis Arivia's Perempuan di Wilayah Konflik (Women at the Conflict Zone).
The Indonesian cinema section also features the work of late director Teguh Karya and animated films by young filmmakers.
Other sections in JIFFest are films on corruption, issues in contemporary Islamic culture, youth in frame, anime (Japanese animation), world cinema, U.S. independent, focus on Mira Nair, new Asian cinema, retrospective on Francois Truffaut, Harun Farocki Films, contemporary Japanese and indigenous Australia.
The festival also presents several fringe events, from seminars to workshops and a chance to meet filmmakers whose films are being screened at the festival.
The festival will close with Tropic Emerald, a historical epic of 1940s Indonesia from Dutch filmmaker Orlow Seuke.
Tickets are Rp 15,000 (US$1.6) per movie, and can be obtained now until Oct. 23 at Jl. Sutan Syahrir 1 C Blok 3-4, Central Jakarta; KOI Restaurant, Jl. Mahakam I/2 and Aksara Bookstore, Jl. Kemang Raya No. 8B, South Jakarta.
Starting Oct. 25, all tickets will be available at the main ticket office at PPHUI or at each venue's ticket office an hour before the start of the films.
For more information, visit www.jiffest.com or call the JIFFest hotline on (021) 83708877 and 83708899.