'Make sinetron fest merry'

JAKARTA (JP): As organizers of the Indonesian Sinetron Festival (FSI) continued to prepare for the airing of Indonesia's television awards event tomorrow night, a senior official at the Ministry of Information yesterday urged them to create a festive atmosphere.

The Director General for Radio, Television and Film, Dewabrata, said the festival, in which dozens of awards are to be given to the best in the flourishing TV industry, should be made as merry as possible.

The Ministry of Information said Alex Kumara headed a six- person delegation of the FSI organizers to meet with Dewabrata at the latter's office yesterday.

Minister of Information R. Hartono has agreed to attend tomorrow night's star-studded event, which provides recognition to those working in the industry, particularly actors and actresses.

Dewabrata said the festival should bring in as many singers and musicians as possible, especially those involved in the making of sinetron, as teleserials are called in Indonesia.

The organizers have chosen RCTI's Studio 4 as the venue instead of a luxury hotel, reportedly to save costs and to avoid creating an impression of extravagance at a time of national economic crisis.

Alex said some 240 TV stars will attend the festival, which will be broadcast live by all six Indonesian television stations tomorrow night.

Altogether, more than 40 awards will be given out, ranging from the best sinetron critic and best talk show, to the best director, actor and actress in the three categories of drama, drama series and comedy series.

TPI's Mat Angin has the most nominations for a comedy series and RCTI's Bukan Perempuan Biasa heads the nominations for the drama series category. Sepanjang Jalan Kenangan, which has not been aired yet, has collected the most nominations in the drama category. (emb)