“Humans always learn what they are responsible for, just like Victor who always learns his new equipment and media.” said Wahyu Al Mardhani, one of the two directors of A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023). The screening of A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023) in the Indonesian Feature-Length Competition program was held at IFI-LIP Yogyakarta on December 7, 2023 at 19.00 WIB. The film brought various montages taken by Victor Konda with various media depicting the physical and social facades of the land of Toraja. After the screening, the audience had the opportunity to join a Q&A session with the filmmakers. In attendance were Wahyu Al Mardhani and Chris Cochrane-Friedrich, the directors of A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023) and Victor Konda, the film’s main archivist.
Victor Konda’s raw archives, the various techniques and methods of the community to capture stories to the intimacy of celebrating the dead–all come out of the screen. A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023) stands as a reminder that humans are small fragments. It is an attempt to put technology as the second head of humans, to remember pieces of events. The following is a summary of the Q&A session with the filmmakers.
How did the idea for this film originate?
(Friedrich) In 2017, I went to Toraja with my friends to do pre-research activities because of a deep interest in Toraja. I thought that the Western culture of covering death is very different from the Torajan way of looking at it. Maybe you’ve seen the National Geographic video about the death ceremony in Toraja, how the corpse is dressed and what happens in the ceremony. It caught my attention, until we met Victor. We got to know each other, so we saw a lot of raw videos that he took. It gave me an idea of Victor’s story and his dedication.
(Al Mardhani) A River in the Middle of the Sky is our first debut film. The film, actually, has gone through several mediums. We tried to express the idea in the form of a four-screen installation in Toraja, Melbourne, and Makassar. We got a lot of input in shaping the film from many directors and filmmakers. When death ceremonies have been shown too often, they suggested putting parts that show the intimacy of Toraja itself-like when there are children playing in the river. From the installation of four screens, we merged them into one screen. We started this movie from an experimental medium until it became a feature-length film.
(Konda) When Chris and his friends came to Toraja in 2017, they were accompanied by a guide to observe and cover the death ceremony. I asked, “Can I come along with them to take a look?” I’ve always been curious about their very sophisticated equipment, because at that time my equipment was still cheap. I was interested in the sophisticated equipment and the process of how they covered it. Over time, I became more and more familiar with them. I treated them to a meal. When they came for the second time in 2019, they contacted me. I offered to let them stay in my house. They were interested in my coverage that was stored on hundreds of hard disks. From there, they took the initiative to make a documentary of what I had covered.
In some sections, there is a focus on the family of the deceased. Is it customary to do so?
(Konda) We filmed family and close people only, never other people. The closest people don’t mind. We also showed all the footage back to them. I asked them, “Is it not a violation?”, and the family said no.
Did the director intentionally capture montages of local people filming with their cameras?
(Friedrich) People all over the world have different techniques of capturing video, including the people of Toraja. They accumulate amazing archives, captures of events that happen in their social environment, and it really describes them. Many Torajans go abroad for work. When they have the opportunity to be together, they capture images and videos to preserve memories and moments. Victor’s archives capture the surrounding reality in a microcosmic way, and that’s very interesting.
(Al Mardhani) We dwell on the discussion, “Are we going to highlight Victor’s ability to try out all the equipment or the local people?” From Victor’s archives, we can see that the people behind the camera are inseparable from the camera. That’s what we wanted to show, that the cameraman is inseparable from the camera. Once upon a time, Om Victor had an iPhone 13. He used it for live streaming. If I had one, I would have used it to take selfies (Audience laughs). From there, we can see that how humans always learn what they are responsible for. So, not only do we talk about the frame, about what appears and is presented to the audience, but we also study the medium, the equipment, and its various functions.
How does Victor view Torajan death rituals?
(Konda) Rambu Solo’ used to be a sacred thing because it used to be very difficult to earn money. Now it is easier for people to earn money. Therefore, these ceremonies are easier to do now. We have a belief that the more buffaloes sacrificed during the death ceremony, the faster the spirit of the deceased will get to nirvana.
How committed is Victor to continuing to document the activities taking place?
(Konda) It is true that buying tapes and storage is expensive. Even so, I still try to keep every document safe. The important thing is that I can still buy rice to eat, that’s enough. I try to keep the documents I took from the first year I documented the event safe, so that future Torajan children and grandchildren can still remember and see–just in case the death ceremony becomes extinct.
What is the Torajan community’s relationship like outside of ceremonial activities? Are ceremonial activities really that vital?
(Konda) Just like other tribes, we do various activities to fulfill our needs. We do ceremonies, we raise buffaloes and pigs for celebrations. If you look at the ceremonial activities, of course there are more costs. We still do it to meet our needs. There are rarely rice fields, and rice is also expensive. Torajans rely on their children and grandchildren who work overseas. These things keep us close: We are always in the same situations.
Victor Konda is one of those who strives to immortalize as many memories as possible through the camera’s eye and the events that occur as a negation of human weakness: being oblivious and forgotten. A River in the Middle of the Sky (2023) is an attempt to fight against forgetfulness because time never waits for us. There are still many documentaries welcoming us in Festival Film Dokumenter 2023, which will be held until December 9, 2023.
Covered by Tuffahati Athallah on December 7, 2023.
