Local Film Communities Drive Industry

ARSIP MSH FILMS

The cast and crew of the film \'Rocker Balik Kampung\' (Rocker Returns to the Village) work on a scene.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The growth of the national film industry is marked not only by an increase in the number of moviegoers, but also by the mushrooming film communities across the regions. These communities have been driving the local film industry over the past few years.

Indonesian Film Board (BPI) international relations and festivals head Dimas Jayasrana said no proper database existed on film communities across the country. However, he estimated that there were around 125 such communities nationwide. “The estimate does not include extracurricular communities at vocational schools,” Dimas said on Tuesday (17/7/2018).

The Indonesian Film Communities Gathering that the BPI held in March in Sukabumi, West Java, saw the attendance of 335 people from 98 film communities in 41 regencies and cities.

Kompas found that film communities are thriving in Banda Aceh, Medan, Bukittinggi, Lampung, Cilegon, several cities in Java, Lombok, Singkawang, Makassar, Manado, Ambon and Timika.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Students and film enthusiasts attend a screening of a film by German filmmaker Michael Brynntrup at Plesungan Studio, Plesungan village, Gondangrejo, Karanganyar, Central Java, on Tuesday evening, April 3, 2018.

Rumata Cultural House activist Fiksa Ramli said at least 15 film communities were spread across several universities in Makassar. They routinely held discussions, film screenings and trainings, and produced films.

The Cinema Lovers Community (CLC) was established in Purbalingga, Central Java, in 2006. The community has spread its love for filmmaking to at least 15 schools, ranging from elementary to high schools. Some of these schools have produced their own films.

Drivers

Indonesia has a long history of film communities. Dimas said that in the late 1960s, cinema clubs cropped up in several universities as part of the New Order government’s attempt to control public film screenings outside movie theaters. The Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) also initiated filmmaking campaigns and screened films in villages.

After the New Order’s downfall in 1998, the film communities mushroomed. “The collapse of the New Order regime created an opportunity for many communities to emerge. The emergence of the Internet gave rise to mailing lists. The high prevalence of pirated software and the increasingly cheap video camera technology also accelerated the growth of film communities,” said Dimas.

KOMPAS/HERLAMBANG JALUARDI

Audience members await a screening of a film during the 2017 Arkipel Jakarta International Experimental and Documentary Film Festival in Kineforum, Jakarta, on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. The festival featured some 85 documentary and experimental films from 32 countries and ran from August 18-26, 2017. Arkipel was initiated by the Lenteng Forum community to interpret global phenomena in social, political, economic and cultural contexts through cinema.

These communities then attracted local youths to films. Wirya Septa Kurniawan of Singkawang, West Kalimantan, said he did not know how to make films until a local community held a filmmaking workshop. It encouraged him and his friends to make their own films with whatever equipment they had.

Gumilar Sayidul Akbar, 20, who heads the Black Team Village Youth Film Community, shared Wirya’s experience. The 200-strong film community in Arcamanik district, Bandung, West Java, has made 25 films and 30 documentaries with simple equipment, including cell phones and DSLR cameras.

In Yogyakarta, the Montase Film Community, established in 2005 is experienced in making films with simple equipment and a minimal budget. One of its films, 05:55, was made for Rp 500,000 (US$34.77) and won Best Cinematography at the 2016 Global Short Film Awards in New York. The film also won Best Fictional Film at the 2016 Tehran International Silent Film Festival in Iran.

KOMPAS/MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

A tanjleb (outdoor movie screening) is held on Saturday evening, July 7, during the 2018 Purbalingga Film Festival in Karanggedang village in Bukateja, Purbalingga, Central Java. Tanjleb will be held during the festival throughout the month in villages in Purbalingga, Banjarnegara, Kebumen, Banyumas and Cilacap.

Films made by local communities are often unique because of their strong regional identities. Many of these films use local languages and themes, including election disputes, villagers experiencing culture shock upon using cell phones for the first time or conflicts between youth gangs.

Dimas said that community-made films offer a variety of perspectives. They offered good alternatives to films from the national industry, which often used Javanese or Jakartan perspectives. In other words, films made by local communities reflected the true face of Indonesian diversity.

Dimas said that he hoped the government would give serious attention to community-produced films.

(HEI/ABK/RTG/TAM/CHE/BAY/NCA/ESA/DKA/JAL)