Short films strengthen RI-German cultural ties
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): In a celebration of cultural relations between Germany and Indonesia, the Goethe Institute, in cooperation with various local educational organizations in major cities, is holding a German-Indonesian Short Films Festival from Feb. 15 through to March 3.
The festival features 35 short films from various genres under four categories: Tricky Germany (12 films), Politics? Politics! (8 films), Love and Other Cruelties (8 films) and Irony of Fate (7 films).
The films, made between 1992 and 1998, vary from animation, documentaries, short features and experimentals. The festival also screens Indonesian short films that have received commendations at local and international forums, such as Jakarta 468, Halte (Bus Stop) and Revolusi Harapan (Revolution of Hope).
The festival began in Yogyakarta on Feb. 15 at Atmajaya University campus and continues at the Indonesian Art Institute's Teater Arena on Feb. 18 and Feb. 19. In Bandung, it will take place at Bandung Institute of Technology's (ITB) Galeri Soemardja.
Then it will move to Jakarta, with showings at the University of Indonesia, Depok, on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, at the Jakarta Arts Institute's (IKJ) Studio Mini on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 and at the Goethe Institute Building from Feb. 28 to March 3.
A workshop on the production of short films for IKJ students will be held from March 1 to March 5, featuring filmmaker Veit Helmer. Helmer will also present some of his works.
The first record of German and Indonesian relations is in 1509. In 1597, Georg Keller from Frankfurt drew a map of Banten. In the 17th century, thousands of Germans went to Indonesia as researchers, doctors, missionary, scholars, merchants, writers and artists.
In the arts, the two countries have always maintained very good relations. Many German artists have written about Indonesia. Frederich Shiller (1759-1805), Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), Adalbett von Chamisso (1781-1838) and Theodor Fontane (1819-1861) are some of Germany's big names in literature who have written about Indonesia.
Prussian King Frederich Wilhelm IV (1797-1861) also wrote a novel set in Borneo. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe was an honorary member of Paguyuban Batavia, a science and arts grouping in old Jakarta.
Many German painters and sculptors have taken Indonesia as their theme. A Javanese painter, Raden Saleh Bustaman (1811- 1880), lived in Germany for several years. Walter Spies (1895- 1942) is probably the best known German artist in Indonesia, especially Bali.
The first film about Indonesia is thought to have been made by a German officer who worked with the Dutch army in Indonesia. He recorded the Dutch army's attack on Puri Badung in Bali in 1904, which is known as the Puputan War. The film, clocking in at six minutes, is now stored at Switzerland's Basel Museum.
Walter Spies, who lived and conducted research on the Balinese arts in 1931, collaborated with Victor Baron von Plessen, a German film producer and director of several films, to make Die Insel des Daemonen (The Island of Demons). It is a 70 minute film about the Balinese community: the beautiful landscape, the farmers and the Leak dance. The cast were all locals.
Inspired by the success of The Island of Demons, von Plessen asked Spies to collaborate for another film. This time it was about the daily life of the Dayak Kenyah community in Borneo (now Kalimantan) in 1935. The Dayak had a running time of more than 70 minutes. The cast were all Dayak Kenyah and Dayak Punan tribespeople.
The film featured the life and traditions of the Dayak people: their romances, their daily life and how they repulsed their enemies. It shows how the tribespeople conquered the river and beheaded their enemies in their tradition called Ngayau.
Baron von Plessen also made short films on the culture of the Balinese and other ethnic groups. H. Nevermann was another German filmmaker who, in 1938, recorded on the daily life of Indonesians.
More German filmmakers arrived and made films about Indonesia after it became independent in 1945. This activity was given a boost by the growing television industry in Germany. Since the 1970s, German TV stations have often presented programs on Indonesia.
German filmmakers are still coming to Indonesia, not only to make films but also to address seminars and show their works. Cultural relations have flourished after the opening of Goethe Institute offices in Jakarta and other major cities.
Big names in the German film industry like Wim Wender, Volker Schlondorff, Margarethe von Trotta and Harmut Bitomsky are among those who have visited Indonesia and met with local people in the film industry.