RI filmmaker connects with kids across the world

Nauval Yazid, Contributor, Singapore

Teacher, animator, dancer, musician, director, editor, translator, architect -- Tintin Wulia dismisses her many talents with a giggle when asked to tell her life story. The 33-year-old Balinese woman, who is best known as a filmmaker, said she was introduced to music in early childhood, though, "it took some time before I was able to realize my dream."

Whereas many parents encourage their children to become doctors or engineers, Tintin was lucky enough to have a mother who suggested she study music abroad. She obtained a degree in film scoring from Berklee College of Music, Boston, the U.S., just a few years after she completed her other bachelor degree in architecture from Parahyangan University, Bandung.

While she has often worked with children, her latest animation The Adventures of Flo & Kat was another undertaking again.

What began with an offer from the committee of the Hamburg Film Festival, when her film entitled Ketok was selected for screening, Flo & Kat has traveled to Germany, Indonesia, Australia and Singapore.

An avid fan of Howard Shore and Danny Elfman, Tintin explains, "I started this workshop in Hamburg in 2003, working with children from nine to 12 years old. We started with Flo only -- his name is actually Florian -- which the children picked as they felt it was German sounding."

"Then, I decided to continue the story by bringing it to Bajawa, Flores. Even though it took a while for the kids in Flores to be brave enough to share their stories, here the story was developed further -- Flo met a girl by the name of Kat. They embarked on an adventure, which would be continued in Darwin, Australia."

And the latter city proved to be a real challenge for Tintin. She worked with two groups of children, some of whom were physically or mentally disabled.

She was amazed to see that, in spite of the children's disabilities, they could see an idea through and make it work.

"It was terrifying to see one girl write a story while keeping her anger inside. And I met another girl who wanted to express her thoughts, but she was deaf, so she had to be helped by her friends -- and that was during my first day of the workshop there. But, in the end, the story continued as planned, although only one group made the cut to the feature."

The feature itself is an open-ended work, despite Singapore being the last stop of the first cycle of the project that started as early as 2003.

According to Tintin, "That was a request from some Singaporean boys, because they wanted to know what would happen to Flo and Kat after they were kidnapped by an alien", she laughed.

"But if the film has to travel again, I will need to establish a timeframe to keep the storyline in order, as we have more than enough twists for one storyline, and of course, I'd like to keep the film going, as I want to see how the kids react when they get older and see this film again", she smiled.

Flo & Kat successfully depicts the diversity of children across the world.

It starts with Flo waking up in his room in Hamburg, then taking the train to school.

Apparently he oversleeps during the journey and arrives in Bajawa, Flores, a land that could not be more different than his hometown. It was snowy when he left the city, and he wakes up to palm trees and beaches.

Here he meets Kat who is surprised to hear his story, and comments, "There's no train in Flores." They hop on the bus to Darwin, and what follows is more the work of the imagination of city children.

Flo and Kat are abducted by an alien and taken to Alpha Land, where viruses are destroying the inhabitants. Flo and Kat are eventually separated. And now the children are waiting to see whether or not they will be reunited.

"Each journey took me by surprise, and Singapore was no exception. This is the first time I worked with all boys -- wild behavior with wild imaginations as well. Their imagination basically revealed their liking for computer games, with all the alien stuff -- but it gives the film a new, unexpected touch.

"They were very naughty. They could not stop playing. But one day we had to work in a room beneath an office. I had to invent a game whereby they had to work in silence. So on that day, we kept whispering to each other, the whole day."

Mervyn Quek, the project manager of TheatreWorks Singapore, where Tintin held the workshop as part of the TheatreWorks' artist-in-residence program, praised Tintin.

"She was so patient with those boys -- I have no idea how. It was certainly a worthwhile experience having her on board as we have also become familiar with her work."

Asked about her plans for the future, she said she wanted to make a full-length fictional feature film, something she has never done before.

Resembling the characters of Flo and Kat, the journey of Tintin Wulia, the artist, is to be continued ...