JiFFest Short Film Competition showcases some interesting films
JiFFest Short Film Competition showcases some interesting films
John Badalu, Contributor/Jakarta
The Indonesian film industry is awaking. This can be seen from the increasing numbers of films being produced every year.
Without any financial support from the government, most of these young filmmakers have to `slave' themselves by making music video clips and telenovelas in order to finance their own movie making.
As a result, most of recent Indonesian films use personal approaches and viewpoints. But since about two or three years ago, they have started to in terms of commercial opportunities that in turn has affected quality.
As technology advances, filmmaking is getting more and more affordable with the use of digital devices. Opportunity now knocks for those who previously could only day-dream about making films. They can now make films on very low budgets shot with digital video cameras, edit using a computer program and, if they are lucky and can get some funding, they can then blow it up into 35mm format.
As most of the young generation here are beginners, they all start by making short films. But where can they screen their films? Screenings at Cinema 21 are still out of the question.
The answer may be JiFFest. This year, JiFFest, in collaboration with Minikino, an organization that focuses on short films, is paying special attention to the short film niche by conducting a competition.
Hundreds of eager filmmakers are submitting their short films in order to gain some recognition.
The competition is divided into fiction and documentary and judged by local and international people such as Riri Riza (Director of Eliana Eliana and Sherina), Chalida Uabumrungjit from Thailand (Director of Thai Short Film and Video Festival), and Joramfrom Holland (Director of In Oranje).
Documentary short films will be judged by Tonny Trimarsanto (Winner of the Excellence Award at The Earth Vision Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival 2004 for his film Dreamland), Amir Muhammad from Malaysia (Director), and Maria Hartiningsih (Senior journalist from Kompas newspaper and the winner of Yap Thiam Hien Award 2003).
Finalists in the fiction short films are quite varied in terms of the themes of their films. Strong contenders to win the competition include Stop Human Cloning from director Wahyu Aditya.
His first animation film Da Pupu Project won an award at Konfiden Short Film and Video Festival a few years back. Edwin, director of A Very Slow Breakfast, has produced a new film taken from the legend Dajang Soembi. This silent film is about a woman married to a dog who has a killer son who wants to be her lover.
From the documentary side there is Ariani Djalal's Lahir di Aceh (Born in Aceh), a documentary about children whose parents were killed in the troubled Aceh region. Anganku (My Dream) from director Tjandra Wibowo took a simple subject on two sisters living in a prostitution complex who face harassment in their neighborhood.
Lexy Rambadeta's Youth on Edge is about a teenager on Sumba Island searching for his identity.
All the finalists are competing for four different awards given by JiFFest itself for best fiction, In-Docs Award for best documentary, Femme Film Award for women's theme film and Panda Award from the World Wildlife Fund for humanitarian and environmental films.
Apart from the competition buzz, JiFFest is also providing an online short film database that can be watched from the computer in the lobby of Graha Bhakti Budaya daily from 3 p.m., and an exciting discussion on short film distribution and exhibition in South-East Asia and its potential in the future film industry.
The discussion will be held at 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Galeri Cipta 3 in the Taman Ismail Marzuki compound, Cikini, Central Jakarta.