Students learn about gender from films

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The high school students -- still in their gray and white school uniforms -- looked so enthusiastic when renowned Indonesian actress Nurul Arifin asked them what they knew about gender or gender-related issues during a talk show held here recently.

Some of them were so enthusiastic that they often yelled out answers, hoping that actress and gender equality activist Nurul would hear their voices above the clamor.

"Well. So, it's that all you know about gender? About being a boy or a girl? If that is so, then I feel sorry for you," said Nurul, using the phrase "Kasihan deh loe!" the way many young Indonesians do, moving her finger down forming a spiral in the air.

That was the scene at a talk show titled Gender Identity & Relationships in British and Indonesian Films, which was held as part of the annual British Film Festival from Jan. 29 to Feb. 27 in the cities of Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Malang, Makasar and Medan.

The festival is being held for two days at each city, except in Makasar, where it ran for three days. There are two main events at each festival stop; film screenings and a discussion on day one and a presentation competition for high school students on day two.

Unlike previous years, at this year's festival, the fourth, the British Council in Indonesia invited five prominent high schools in the five participating cities to take part in the festival. The schools are SMA 8 Jakarta, SMA 3 Yogyakarta, SMAK St. Albertus Malang, SMA 1 Makasar and SMA Harapan Medan.

"We visited (university) campuses last year. Now we are going to school," British Council public relations manager Mona Monika told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the festival in Yogyakarta.

Four of the five cities have already hosted the festival, which will conclude in Medan on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post in Yogyakarta, Mona said that popular young Indonesian filmmakers and actors were also invited to speak at the discussions. Apart from Nurul Arifin, there were filmmakers Riri Riza, Hanung Bramantyo and Mira Lesmana, and actors Samuel Rizal, Nirina Zubir and Fedi Nuril.

Two relatively long British films were presented at the festival. They were The Trouble with Men and Women and School for Seduction. The former, starring Joseph McFadden and Kate Ashfield, is about the sentimental experience of a man who meets a variety of different women.

The latter, featuring Kelly Brook and Emily Woof, is about an Italian seductress who turns the world of four English women upside down.

The films, said Mona, were selected because they were considered rich in gender or gender-related issues, and thus they met the chosen central theme of the festival.

"We deliberately chose gender as the central theme because by doing so we are trying to stimulate the sensitivity of the young generation while also focusing their attention on problems related to the lack of understanding regarding the issue," she said.

She added that the social and cultural practices of gender could be found in all aspects of life, including films.

Due to the flourishing new generation in Indonesian cinema, therefore, it is crucial to perceive how gender issues are represented in films, through which people can see society's expectations of appropriate masculine or feminine behavior, she said.

In films, too, people can learn how complex the process is of acquiring gender identity, which can result in confusion or even frustration.

"We believe that the sooner people acquire an understanding about gender, the greater the possibility for them to open up their horizons toward this issue," Mona said.

The festival, therefore, hopes to encourage young people, especially those in the 15 to 18 age group, to discover how the concepts of masculinity and femininity, as influenced by both social norms and popular culture, are strong determinants of how they construct and understand their personal identities.

Based on these same considerations, the presentation competition for high school students had the theme How is gender represented in British and Indonesian films?

The competition was open to all high school students. The presentation was done in groups, each comprising two students.

A winning group was selected from each of the participating cities. The five winning groups will then be invited to Jakarta for the final presentation competition to be held on March 11.

Two of the five groups will then be selected to take part in a 10-day visit to London, where they will meet students at several London high schools and introduce Indonesian films and discuss gender issues in film. They are also scheduled to visit the British Film Institute and museums, and attend theater performances and others events.

"The visit was initially scheduled for March, but was later postponed to April because schools there are on vacation on the scheduled dates in March," Mona explained.