Nonfeature TV miniseries face lck of public recognition

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA(JP): The term sinetron is an acronym for Sinema Elektronik, coined by Soemardjono, a national film figure who died in August 1998. He came up with sinetron as terminology for television miniseries.

In the beginning, the term only applied to feature works but later included nonfeature programs such as documentaries, semidocumentaries, instructional, cultural, news and talk shows. The category has also spread to shows known as infotainment.

Out of all the programs broadcasted by television stations in Indonesia, about 70 percent are nonfeatures. Yet, as the television industry's output, nonfeature miniseries face a paradox: between the need of their existence and the lack of credit given them by TV stations.

Even though nonfeature miniseries have dominated local programming, their existence is seen as supplemental in the television industry.

Beside low financial rewards, recognition for nonfeature miniseries is low, which is reflected in how they are treated in the Indonesian Sinetron Festival (FSI), currently in its fifth year.

The indication of the lack of recognition is apparent in negotiations between nonfeature miniseries makers and TV stations. For instance, many stations still see nonfeature miniseries as boring propaganda that will bore viewers.

Such generalization has been around since the early days of Indonesian independence. Nonfeature films were manipulated by the government as a means of developing propaganda. The trend continues throughout the New Order era by the government-owned TVRI with its dogmatic and stoic production technique and style.

Nationwide broadcasts of unveiling ceremonies, government officials' regional trips and former minister of information Harmoko's Klompencapir (agricultural developmental propaganda) programs, all contribute to viewers' aversion of nonfeature miniseries. This animosity, amplified by a mandatory relay for such programs by private TV stations, results in many viewers' antipathy toward the "documentary" terminology.

Viewers identify documentaries with government propaganda, when they could actually contain facts and have educational value, which influences TV stations' decision not to air documentary films. They consider documentaries to draw small amounts of viewers and not attract advertisers.

Such projection has been rejected by cinematographers from the MILES group, Garin Nugroho and Mira Lesmana, who produced the documentary Anak Seribu Pulau (Children of the Archipelago). The result of their strategies to categorize Anak as an educational program, although from its appearance and structure it is a documentary, and by applying a discrete ploy to get simultaneous broadcasting from all TV stations, proved that the public's rejection of the documentary was minimized.

Such strategy is effective, and has been implemented by private TV stations for various programs, such as ANteve's Fakta and Indosiar's Horison.

Even though FSI has been showing an increasing interest in nonfeature nominees: 60 titles in 1994, 80 in 1995, 140 in 1996, over 300 in 1997, but just 140 in 1998, the number does not represent the total yearly production, since not all nonfeature miniseries were nominated.

Unfortunately, even in FSI '98, nonfeatures were still only treated as supplements in an event that focused on features. It is a fact that many Indonesian viewers associate feature miniseries with the dazzling glamour of its stars.

FSI's nonfeature miniseries winner in the documentary category was a Fakta episode on the Trisakti University tragedy by an ANteve news reporting team. It was chosen by the jury for its portrayal and narration. The presenter's narration guides viewers through emotional scenes of people being shot and the military's brutal behavior. As reporting, the work is quite acceptable, although it uses conventional linear presentation by combining a sequence of presenter-facts.

In the semidocumentary category, Jakarta 468 by Ari Ibnuhajar from the Jakarta Arts Institute had to fight for the title with Pramoedya Ananta Toer by the Lontar Foundation. The latter passionately portrays the strength of the exiled writer; Pram reveals his past, from childhood memories to his time behind bars. Although the appearance of a mother character eliminates its chance to be a pure documentary miniseries, it was, overall, a superb piece of work.

Yet, as a semidocumentary miniseries, Jakarta 468 is a more intact work. The miniseries contains bold cinematography techniques, combining freeze-frame with live-action, creating an interesting rhythm.

The education/information category was won by Aikon for Peniti (Safety pin) directed by Ukke Enrico and Chandra and produced by PT Spectra Graphic. Compared to the other 12 nominees in the category, which included other Aikon works, Peniti has more nuances, while the technique is characterized by computer technology exploration by young filmmakers.

Profil Taman Nasional Wasur (A Profile of Wasur National Park) by Dicky Martiyaz won the cultural/tourism category. As a cultural/tourism documentary, the miniseries depicts Irian Jaya's natural reserve with an exotic pictorial of Irian Jaya's kangaroo and bird life. The one-hour documentary is a superb environmental program, although the music score dilutes the beautiful shots. However, compared to the other 20 finalists, Profil Taman Nasional Wasur is more striking.

There was no significant breakthrough in the quiz-show category. Most are adaptations of foreign quiz shows. The category was won by a Famili 100 episode Child Stars, produced by ANteve, directed by Sirojul Mounir, with Sonny Tulung as presenter.

Talk show programs often feature hosts who lack the knowledge of chosen topics. Presenters are often trapped by their own mind-set. What finally appears on the current talk shows is not an exchange of opinions, but a confirmation of the host's opinion.

The award for talk show category was given to a Debat Terbuka (Open Debate) episode on Mengatasi Ancaman Disintegrasi (Contending the Threat of Disintegration). The talk show engages its audience's emotions that applaud and elevate the show's mood. It was hosted by Fahmi Idris, directed by Fritz Henry Simatupang and produced by ANteve.

The infotainment category was won by Dunia Bintang (World of the Stars), an SCTV production, for an episode featuring Fariz RM hosted by Ingrid Wijanarko. Even though the episode was far from perfect, for example Ingrid's attempt to dig at Fariz RM's creation process was not optimal, the jury, comprising Budiati Abiyoga, Dwi Koendoro, Ismail Subardjo, Gotot Prakosa and Masdun Pranoto, voted for this miniseries.

Even though this year's production of nonfeature miniseries decreased in quantity, quality-wise, they were better than last year's. Lack of order to produce feature films led many makers of miniseries to venture into producing nonfeature miniseries. Dominated by young filmmakers, many of them do have the willingness to experiment with nonfeature miniseries.

In a discussion in the Usmar Ismail Film center on Dec. 19, following the screening of Indonesian Short Films and Video by the Jakarta Arts Council, Dwi Koendoro, as a speaker in the forum, commented on nonfeatures' present condition. He regretted the fact that even though TV stations' programming contains a larger proportion of nonfeature miniseries, their presence only embellished this year's festival. FSI's permanent organizing committee should make some alterations in the coming year.

The writer is a filmmaker and lecturer at the School of Film and Television, Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ).