For Victor Konda, having a troubled vision doesn’t stop him from finding a vision of those closest to him. Using camera lenses, he dives into the meaning of his life in moving images that he believes will forever remain. A River in the Middle of the Sky (Wahyu Al Mardhani, Chris Cochrane Friedrich; 2023) opens the door for its audience to take a closer look at the goings-on in his homeland, Tanah Toraja.
Through Victor’s lens, all the customary, from funerals to celebration, will be eternal. Viktor’s eyes juxtapose the playful laughter with the family’s cries of loss, reminding us of how near death and life is. Dance after dance is performed to the hum of the men’s mother tongue prayers, adding to the notion that for the Torajans, rather than sinking into the deserted loneliness, welcoming death is rather something to celebrate.
The mundane things in life, as seen from the varying lens across various possessives, is locked by how Victor envisions those that often goes unnoticed. From the Toraja children playing happily in the river, the community togetherness of harvesting their produce, to the heartfelt connection between the youngsters and the elderly. Wahyu Al Mardhani and Chris Cochrane Friedrich collect the pieces of Victor’s vision and his orbit in A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023), inviting us to appreciate the fine line between taking a look and seeing beyond what’s seen.
A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023) is selected in Indonesia Feature-Length Competition Festival Film Dokumenter 2023. (Athallah, Tuffahati) (Vanis)
Film Details
A River in the Middle of the Sky (Salu Dao Tangngana Langi’)
Wahyu Al Mardhani, Chis Cochrane Friedrich | 80 Minutes | 2023 | South Sulawesi | Color | 21+
Jadwal Tayang
12.05 | Gedung ex Bioskop Permata | 14.50 WIB
12.07 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 19.00 WIB
