Slovak film week targets children and teenagers
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): There is the fairy tale version of Sleeping Beauty, and Frankenstein can turn into a human being. Curious? You can satisfy your curiosity at next week's Slovakia Film Week for Children and Teenagers.
Taking place between May 23 and May 28 at Bentara Budaya Jakarta building on Jl. Palmerah Selatan, Central Jakarta, the film week will be a rare event.
"Most film festivals target adults, and when the country is facing a difficult situation like the economic crisis, children are often overlooked," Slovak Ambassador to Indonesia Milan Lajciak says.
Organized by the Slovak Embassy, the Society for Advancement of Children's Literature and Bentara Budaya Jakarta, films will be screened at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily.
Four big screen movies, four short animated films, a small film poster exhibition and two seminars on animation and on drug addiction will highlight the event.
"We hope parents will spare the time and take their children to this event. These films will help them learn new things while improving their imaginative thinking ability," said Murti Bunanta, the society's chairperson.
The Slovak version of Sleeping Beauty -- a classic fairy tale about a beautiful princess who is cursed by an evil fairy but saved by a handsome prince from eternal sleep -- will be screened on May 23 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; May 24 at 10 a.m.; May 25 at 6 p.m., May 26 at 10 a.m.; May 27 at 2 p.m. and May 28 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Commuters, a 82-minute love story between a male student who takes a train to and from school and then falls in love with a beautiful fellow passenger, will be screened on May 23 at 6 p.m.; May 26 at 6 p.m. and May 28 at 6 a.m.
Freckled Max & The Spooks, a 96-minute film based on A.R. Pettersson's novel Frankenstein's Aunt, will entertain viewers with a humorous storyline about how the power of love can turn a ghost into a human being. Throughout filming, filmmakers Jaroslav Dietl and Juraj Jakubisko strived to understand the theme of Frankenstein while expressing their deep conviction and belief in the victory of humanity, common sense and the defeat of man's aggressive intolerance. This film will be screened on May 24 at 6 p.m.; May 25 at 10 a.m.; May 26 at 2 p.m.; and May 27 at 10 a.m.
An expressive drama about cursed and wasted love, Suzanne will feature on May 24 at 2 p.m. and May 27 at 6 p.m. Directed by Dusan Raspos, the movie is about the life of a drug addict.
According to Murti, unlike the three big screen movies, Suzanne can only be watched by teenagers over 15 years of age since they will be able to grasp the film's storyline better.
In the film week, four short animations will also entertain children prior to the screening of big screen movies.
The Baby in the Bank is an animated movie about a baby's experience in a bank, while The Wise Little Pig presents a new story about three little pigs. Gongo and the Alarm-Clock is a picture about a boy who has two alarm clocks to wake him up while Tom Thumb will present the famous story of Tom of the Thumb, a thumb-sized boy.
Murti says not all of the films are subtitled since the themes are universal and can easily be understood by children.
"We will have Pak Raden (a storyteller) to accompany the children watching the films. He will explain the story beforehand and answer their questions," she said.
Two seminars featuring local and Slovak experts will be held at the same venue.
A seminar on the social problems of drug addiction will be organized on May 24 after the screening of Suzanne at 2 p.m., while a seminar on animation, titled Animation Industry: Its Challenges in the Global World, will be held on May 25 after the 2 p.m. screening of animated movies. (ste)