Last call for JiFFest movies

Last call for JiFFest movies

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Attention movie buffs! Lest you forget, today and tomorrow are
your last chances to see JiFFest movies you may have targeted
days before the 7th festival was unveiled.

For those who missed Broken Flowers and Commandante, which
were last screened on Friday, cheer up, because on Saturday there
will be 34 different movies screened at 12 JiFFest venues, and
another 33 on Sunday.

On Saturday, documentary Mana: Beyond Belief will have
director Peter Friedman in attendance for the screening at TIM 2
at 4:30 p.m. while on Sunday, Dutchman Albert Ter Heerdt,
director of drama/comedy Shouf-Shouf Habibi! is also scheduled to
be present at its screening at 5 p.m. at Goethe Haus.

There is some bad news, though.

First, tickets for the closing film, Der Untergang (The
Downfall) are sold out.

"Thus far, tickets for the other scheduled movies are still
available," JiFFest spokesman John Badalu told The Jakarta Post
on Friday. So, hurry up!

Second, three documentary films on Timor Leste could not be
shown.

"They did not pass the censor. The government film censorship
body (LSF) cited as its reason, 'We do not want to open up old
wounds'," John said.

Therefore, Tales for Crocodiles and Timor Loro Sae, which were
supposed to be screened on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Teater Kecil,
will be replaced by a world animation program, which will screen
27 short films.

Previously on Thursday, documentary Passabe was replaced by
the animation program for the same reason.

Documentary Kami Juga Anak Indonesia, which was supposed to
follow Timor Loro Sae, will move to 2:00 p.m. screening alongside
Joki Kecil and Myths, Monsters and Hobbits.

Passabe, directed by Singaporeans James Leong and Lynn Lee, is
a 108-minute documentary filmed in 2005 about the struggles of an
ex-murderer who tries to cope with his horrific past, the wife of
a jailed militia leader who has been ostracized by her community
and the angry survivor of the massacre.

Tales of Crocodiles, made in 2003, is an account of recovery
from the struggle for independence of Timor Leste people, seen
through a Papuan who worked as an interpreter for the United
Nations. Directed by Dutchman Jan van den Berg, the film is a 50-
minute documentary.

Meanwhile the 12-minute animation Timor Loro Sae, created by
Portuguese Vitor Lopes, deals with the history of Timor from the
500 years of colonialism and the 26 years of Indonesian
occupation, and with its current situation as an independent
country. Related story on Page 19

For further information, click on: www.jiffest.org.