Teater Utan Kayu reels in local film lovers

By Devi M. Asmarani

JAKARTA (JP): For some people, art is among the top of their needs. Nothing is more satisfying to them than an inspiring piece of literature, a stimulating play or a profound film.

Unfortunately, Jakarta is no New York, or any of the other culturally rich cities for that matter, where choices are merely a subway trip downtown or a walk of a couple of blocks.

Theatergoers usually have to wait months before a good show is staged, and tickets for some of the better ones, such as Teater Koma, often cost a pretty penny.

Many of the movies playing in local theaters are Hollywood marketing packages wrapped in sophisticated special effects.

Which is not to say the city is a desert for more dignified artistic creativity.

Hailing from a community theater tradition, a small non-profit organization calling itself Teater Utan Kayu (TUK) provides a venue for Jakarta's small, artistically minded denizens.

Beginning today, TUK will screen Woody Allen's films for three consecutive days.

The lineup is Annie Hall (1977), Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Shadows and Fog (1992), Husband Wives (1992), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996).

Rayya Makarim, who is in charge of the program, said she wanted to show the American director's movies because they were not as serious as previous screenings.

"Things are pretty tense right now, all the other films we've put on have been serious and real art films," she said.

"Woody Allen is not exactly light, it's kind of heavy. But it's also on the comical side, so I thought it would be refreshing."

Even if most Indonesians might find it hard to connect with the dry, Jewish middle-class humor in Allen movies, Rayya said she was optimistic audiences would enjoy other aspects of the films, such as the cinematography and the acting.

"With (Andrei) Tarkovsky's films, for example, they are difficult to understand, but people can still enjoy them from other perspectives," said Rayya, a recent film graduate from Vassar College in New York.

She said audiences primarily consisted of artists and students.

"It's rather difficult with theater, what with limited publicity."

Films were a better draw, she said, as they spoke a universal language.

"Once we put on The Last Temptation of Christ and we had 212 people in the theater," she said.

To publicize the Woody Allen event, she put up posters at the Kemchicks and Hero supermarkets, the American Embassy, the French Cultural Center and Dutch cultural center Erasmus Huis.

Film is the most practical and cheapest event to feature, she said.

"All I have to do is decide on the theme, genre, directors or the country, then select the film and after that borrow them," he said.

The theater shows films using laser projection, and most of the films are borrowed from a nearby laser store, which Rayya described as "an amazing place to find anything from Bergman, Rosellini to Woody Allen".

The theater has held two film festivals since the 23-year-old took over the curatorial position. This includes a Japanese film festival, and series on Jesus Christ and Mary in December.

Rayya said she wanted to show more foreign films in the future, such as those directed by Swedish film and theater director Ingmar Bergman and Andre Tarkovsky. There has also been the suggestion to show short films made by the Jakarta Art Institute's film students.

"We're also thinking of playing Disney films, followed by discussions on them, for example on the portrayal of women in the movies," Rayya said.

Affiliated with the Lontar Foundation, the theater is located in the Lontar Gallery complex on Jl. Utan Kayu, East Jakarta.

Established on Aug. 9 last year, it was inspired by efforts of prominent arts and literary figures such as Goenawan Mohamad and Zulkifli Lubis.

Without ambitions of developing on a much grander scale, the theater is neither formal nor conventional. It is free of the bureaucratic influence of city-run art center Taman Ismail Marzuki.

With a capacity for just 70 people, the venue oozes a relaxed atmosphere.

Under its director Goenawan Mohamad, TUK employs three curators in charge of the varieties of programs: poet and playwright Sitok Srengenge as the theater and literature curator, Rayya Makarim as film and, temporarily, music and dance curator and Achmad Sahal as conductor of the discussions.

The curators are in charge of organizing the theater's monthly programs of dance and musical performances, plays, films and discussions.

So far, it has staged contemporary plays performed by small community theater groups, such as the Bandung-based Teater Payung Hitam, or monologs by actors such Butet Kartaredjasa, Rita Matu Mona and Iman Soleh.

Discussions usually cover social and philosophical issues.

"We want to provide alternative programs for the audience in the midst of the commercialized trend in the art industry recently," Rayya said.

All the shows are free of charge, another draw for audiences.

"Everything is free, in fact it is more of a hangout place," Rayya said.