The spirit of experimentation in the process of making a documentary enables the director to push the boundaries of their craft. This is what the director of Sunshower (2024), Micko Boanerges, has done. The film, which is included in FFD 2024’s Indonesian Feature-Length Competition program, was screened on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at IFI-LIP Yogyakarta, at 13.00 WIB. Sunshower (2024) captures a portrait of political conditions in Indonesia during the general election period through footage of the daily life and conversations of an elderly couple who are Micko’s own grandparents. After the screening, the audience had the chance to participate in a live Q&A session with Micko.
The following is a summary of the Q&A between the director of Sunshower (2024) and the audience.
What is the underlying message in the final scene, when there is a background sound from a TV showing a speech by a presidential candidate, and then suddenly there are visual effects of rain and thunder?
For Micko, rather than a “message”, he wanted to focus on expression. The speech of a presidential candidate has in turn managed to generate ripples of anger in Micko. Thus, he wanted to channel his anger through the visual language in the film, which was then translated through the nature of the weather, namely rain and thunder.
Why did you choose a black-and-white color palette as a visual aesthetic throughout the film?
It is not without reason, of course, that Micko monochromizes Sunshower (2024). This is an aesthetic choice that he uses to capture memories of the past that significantly contribute to building the construction of the present narrative in the film. He calls it the “in-between space”. Between black and white. However, it does not stop at the choice of color palette. Micko also utilizes the transitional situation, namely inconsistent heat and rain, as an affirmation of the uncertain situation that is one of the major themes in this film.
To what extent does the director sort and select footage to be woven into a unified whole in the film?
Given that Sunshower (2024) invests heavily in the daily experiences of his grandparents, Micko, who already knows the patrons of their activities, found it quite helpful. However, he doesn’t just rely on that. To optimize the sense of uncertainty that surrounds the country’s political conditions through the visual language of the film, Micko also consistently and patiently waits for the weather to change, hot and rainy, over a long period of time.
Does Bangka, the setting of the film, play a functional role in signaling time and the director’s life that slows down in that place?
Micko does live in Jakarta and the setting of Sunshower (2024) is the residence of his grandparents in Bangka. He does not deny that Bangka is both a marker and a reminder of a life that is slowing down and becoming distant. A reminder of time and space that must continue; Micko cannot stay in Bangka forever, he must return to Jakarta. This is also supported by a scene that shows Micko having a dialog with his friend. They ask each other when to return to work, when to return to Jakarta. Again, the in-between side is shown. Between Bangka and Jakarta; between rural and urban. In addition, Bangka also significantly projects the generation gap between Micko and his grandparents. This is supported by several scenes that show Micko, his grandfather and grandmother in the same room, but they don’t talk to each other.
Sunshower (2024) offers a pliable perspective and way of speaking in responding to the complexity of political conditions in Indonesia. Retrospection and reflection through the daily activities of its subjects underline the role and function of the director’s aesthetic choices in insinuating messages, or what Micko prefers to call personal expressions, through documentaries. You can still watch Sunshower (2024) in Indonesian Feature-Length Competition FD 2024 on Thursday, 7 November 2024, at 19.00 WIB in Ruang Seminar, TBY.
Covered by Hesty N. Tyas on 5 November 2024. (Ed. Vanis/Trans. Naufal Shabri)
