Festival Film Dokumenter 2004

One year ago, in one corner of the city of Yogyakarta, in the old building of Fort Vredeburg, when the bells of togetherness began to ring on a December night.

Honestly, that night we were determined to meet again. The same bell echoed again, the following year. Looking back at FFD’s journey is like answering a question with a new question. To be honest, FFD is not something that started with a mature concept and thought, this festival was not born by great people with solid planning.

No, FFD is not a finished form like that, until today. FFD really started from just talking to each other between several friends, who were worried about various things, especially things related to media, television and film. This anxiety then found its way into one group of thoughts: documentary films. Thus, still in a very limited scope, the idea of ​​what is called a documentary film manifested itself in the idea of ​​holding a festival, where people could learn and share, where people could see, discover, create alternatives with so-called alternative films. Armed only with enthusiasm and determination, the first FFD was held in September 2002. Who knows what happened, this first FFD succeeded in inviting many people from various regions, from various backgrounds, from various organizations and institutions to get involved and participate. The film competition succeeded in attracting participants that were far beyond our expectations.

What makes us very heartened is that people who for us are important figures who are very competent in their fields provide support and cooperation which is very encouraging. Likewise with institutions and various institutions, whose cooperation is a real relief. Of course, it was the seniors in our own environment who made us unable to avoid the “burden” that was suddenly bestowed upon us: that FFD had to be held again next year, that FFD had to be held every year so that it could be used as a place for many people to learn, to share, to express, to answer anxieties, to discover new anxieties.

Thus, with all the recklessness, with a lot of trial and error, with various shortcomings, also with many improvements and improvements–including non-competition programs, FFD was implemented for the second time in 2003. There are many notes that we kept from this second implementation, there was a lot of tiredness, there was a lot of hope, there were a lot of things that worried us. But suddenly we were at the next year, the next festival: FFD 2004.

What and how FFD 2004 is, we can only hope that it will be good and beautiful. And, every time we arrive at such a site, we will smile again: This FFD is not about us, this FFD is not ours. This is the source of anyone’s anxiety, which will get an answer from anyone. And the sound of togetherness came back to us. How faint and far away it was at first, but the more it echoed, the closer it got, the louder it sang.

And we are happy, I hope you all are too.