“Lanskap” is an effort to look and discuss the various discourses that are present in and about Indonesia. This program offered a point of view to construe Indonesian documentary movies; while simultaneously to see Indonesia through the lens of documentary. The various discourses were later being arranged into three selected themes: history, work environment, and diaspora. These themes were chosen not because it wasn’t only presenting critics through subjects who always become the victim, but also the personal story in looking various events occurred in Indonesia.
The history theme was chosen as a form of reflection on how memories were recorded in Indonesian history timeline, started with the wartime to the post reformation. Kampung MacArthur (2018) told the memories and the war artefacts abandoned by the allied armies scattered in a Papuan village. Ultimately, the movie left a dialog between desire to preserve history or cultivate profit from it. Nyala: Nyanyian yang Tak Lampus (2018) presented the story of Tragedy 1965 survivors and the existing memories recorded under the operating order. Sinawang (2018) showed how New Order’s glorification carried out by a few people in Soeharto’s birth town. While Marzuki (2018) reminded that welfare and prosperity weren’t owned by all Indonesia citizens under the context of post reformation. The four movies in this theme were chosen using the logic of Indonesian history chronology with the presence of rarely discussed discourses.
Through work environment theme, the depiction of Indonesian people was portrayed along the irony between needs and strategies to stay alive. Exploration of the space problems in the city was revealed by secondhand clothing merchants in a burnt market through the movie InangInang (2018). Pagi yang Sungsang (2018) presented true portrait of they who are wrestling with trash, an odd work ritual.
In the diaspora theme, some movies presented tried to show the mixed matters of those who went in and out of Indonesia. O-Sepig (2018) discussed the living space and livelihood across borders between neighboring country. Merahnya Biru (2018) neatly portrayed the foreign workers activities after their working hours in Jakarta. Returning to Indonesia was a simple story of going back home after a long time living away in other country. While Liefde (2018) was present like a poetry of longing through the exploration of ancestors’ origins.
The selected movies in this program are an important record of the Indonesian filmmakers—and descendants of Indonesia—in understanding the country. Some of the movies were curated from FFD submission throughout the year 2017 to 2018. The themes in “Lanskap” were chosen to evoke the forgotten discourses and dialogs in discussing Indonesia.
The movies in the program “Lanskap” will be screened on 6 to 12 December 2018. Complete agenda could be seen on schedule.
