Portrait of the documentarian as a young man

JP/20/BHRE

checked --JSR

Portrait of a documentarian as a young man (try and keep this heading -- it's good!)

M. Taufiqurrahman The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

For a 19-year old, Ratrikala Bhre Aditya has a keen eye for social observation.

"On the way here, I met a proud-looking security guard. I think it would be interesting to shoot a film based on his life -- someone who works for a pittance but sees on a daily basis luxury cars going past, which he can only dream of," Bhre told The Jakarta Post in an interview at a shopping mall in South Jakarta.

That sharp mind helped Bhre produce his intimate, yet incendiary documentary on slain rights activist, Munir.

Titled Bunga Dibakar: Dia Yang Tidak Mau `Mati' Sebelum Mati (Burned Flower: He Who Refuses to Die Before Death), the film is a moving documentary that chronicles Munir's life -- from his dismal days of being a small-time labor activist in Malang to his high-profile crusade against state-sponsored violence.

If the success of a film can be judged by its ability to enlighten its audience and engage them, Bunga Dibakar can be considered to have passed with flying colors, as each individual in the audience who saw the film emerged mourning the untimely demise of the rights activist.

When the film was screened for the first time at Goethe Haus, Central Jakarta, people were surprised to discover that the documentary had been directed by a young man barely out of high school, with only a handful of documentary films under his belt.

The surprise would have multiplied if the audience knew that the young filmmaker was raised under the country's dumbed-down educational system, which stifles every tendency by students to regain their social and historical consciousness.

"I'm part of a generation that was duped by the Soeharto regime, which committed a cardinal sin by inducing "historical amnesia" in which we are taught only one version of history -- its version," he said.

Frequently, during classes, Bhre argued with his teachers when he questioned the basic tenets of their teachings. The quarrel ended with Bhre being ejected from the classroom, without a word in his defense from his peers.

"Most of my friends tend to be compliant souls who accept everything from their teachers without question," he mused.

Such a submissive attitude also prevailed in his filmmaking circle.

Bhre, an alumnus of a course on documentary filmmaking held by Indocs studio for documentary film, was the only student who opted to stick to documentary films.

Most of his peers are either making feature films, which they considered trendy, or abandoning filmmaking altogether.

Directing a documentary film on Munir opened a lot of doors to Bhre on aspects of the country's shady history.

"I -- just like most of my friends who are blind to the country's political history -- know nothing about Munir. But in the course of making this film I felt I was opening up a Pandora's box," said Bhre, who looks older than his years.

Researching archives for Bunga Dibakar, Bhre discovered that Indonesia has a poor human rights record; what Munir did to unravel it was but a teardrop in the ocean of rights abuse.

He landed such a rewarding job, however, through an entirely fortuitous set of circumstances.

His father, a staff member of the Institute for the Free Flow of Information (ISAI), first asked him to take pictures at a function held to commemorate the death of Munir early in September this year.

Footage from the event was deemed insufficient, so he was asked to go to Malang, East Java, to document Munir's funeral.

People at ISAI, later the producer of Bunga Dibakar, then came up with an idea of making a documentary film on Munir, who died of arsenic poisoning on board an airplane of flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia, en route to the Netherlands.

Armed with only a camera and a little knowledge about what a documentary should look and sound like, Bhre started shooting footage and started out on a massive editing job.

Aided by a hands-on team of researchers, Bhre managed to produce a powerful documentary film.

It has elevated him to unprecedented status: He has already been hailed as a promising talent who will shine in this field.

Earlier this month, he shared the limelight with renowned writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer when both acted as speakers at an event held to commemorate the 40 years of a bloody coup commonly blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

His growing stature will indeed help thrust him into becoming a good documentarian.

Soon, another door will open for him.

Earlier next year, this son of a former political prisoner of the Soeharto regime -- his father was sent to gulag-like prison island Buru -- will leave for Germany to pursue his studies in geography.

He believes that, more than social or political science, geography will help him understand people and their environment better. "I'm obsessed about filming the relationship between people and their environment," he said.

This has led him to the conviction that he will probably become a full-time documentarian by the time he returns from his overseas education.

"I've made a decision that making documentary films will be my day job in the future. I don't care if it pays me little.

People like Munir live happy lives without ever having that much money," Bhre said, in an outburst of youthful exuberance.