RI short film to be screened at Cannes Film Festival

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A local short film is among those to gain unofficial selection at the May Cannes Film Festival, making it the third Indonesian film ever shown at the festival and the first of non-feature length.

The nine-minute Kara Anak Sebatang Pohon (Kara, Child of a Tree) by director Edwin passed the selection for the Director's Fortnight (Quinzaine des Realisateurs) section, which runs parallel with the main competition at the festival held on May 11 through May 22.

Founded in 1968, by noted French filmmakers Jacques Donio- Valcroze, Jean Luc-Goddard and Francois Truffaut, the Director's Fortnight prides itself on being more open and daring than its official counterparts.

Previous films in this section includes Sophia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides, Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and Ed Sanchez and Dan Myrick's The Blair Witch Project.

Edwin's film will join 23 feature films and 13 short films.

A film student at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ), 27 year- old Edwin is already known among local film scene as a young short filmmaker with strong conceptual ideas and technical skills.

Most often praised here is Edwin's film Dajang Soembi: Perempoean Jang Dikawini Andjing (Dajang Soembi: A Woman Married to A Dog), an experimental interpretation of a Sundanese folk story that was among the nominees at last year's Indonesian Film Festival (FFI).

Kara is Edwin's eighth film, set on the slopes of the mystical Mount Semeru of East Java, is about the struggle against capitalism and criticizes the growth of the media.

"The theme is nihilistic. I want to show that people's outrage against capitalism is futile. I also want to show how media has been exploited to the point that its position becomes unclear and it spreads insubstantial things," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Partly funded by Miles Films owned by noted filmmakers Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza, Kara also features actress Ladya Cheryl, who fist became known in teen hit film Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Cinta?) by Miles.

The screening at Cannes next month comes after Eros Djarot's Tjut Njak Dien screened there in 1989 and Garin Nugroho's Daun Di Atas Bantal (Leaf on the Pillow) was shown in 1998.