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.