Makiko Wakai, Phillip Cheah, and Pierre-Emmanuel Barthe are the three juries for International Feature-Length Documentary Festival Film Dokumenter 2022. After such a long discussion to decide the best International Feature-Length Documentary Competition and the one which awarded Jury’s Special Mention, FFD had the opportunity to talk with the juries in GAIA Cosmo on Friday, November 18, 2022.
How did you score the films?
Phillip: We watch films and see how they can make us feel something strongly.
Pierre: I like the long story about what the director has to tell me. I can be moved then impressed or I find it boring and the subject isn’t interesting. It’s how they make it interesting.
Makiko: Yea, I agree. There are no specific criterias or parameters. It’s just how I feel through emotions.
Lalu, siapa pemenangnya?
Phillip: (Menatap Makiko) Karena film tersebut dari negaramu, ada baiknya, kamu saja yang menyampaikan.
Makiko: (Turn to Makiko) Because it’s from your country, you should say it.
Philip: The best film is Shuhei Hatano’s I Remember. From Japan. What’s the Japanese title?
Makiko: Watashi wa Oboe Teru.
Apa pertimbangan untuk memenangkan film tersebut?
Pierre: He managed to tell with the very simple system which is only a face to face camera interview, but the choice of different characters is very unique, and the way he’s telling me as an audience; the story of the country, of the human, of the time, even my own story. So, even for four hours, it makes me feel very pleasant.
Makiko: Yep.
Phillip: There is a special jury mention.
Pierre: Yea, there is a special jury mention, which is 1970. We found it, like, an original way to show the fact. The use of puppets is really original. It’s really telling an interesting story. We follow these people, we follow this tribe. We also follow their pain, their anger against the politician. So, if the director managed to make the film full of emotions, I feel that he would succeed in delivering what he wanted to say.
Phillip: I need to say this, because we didn’t have the chance to say this before, but you know in an oppressive society, normally the people who talk about controlling are always seen as puppet masters. So , in this film, they use animated puppets, and the oppressive people become the puppets. So, instead of being the puppet master, they are now puppets. I think that’s a very strong allegory of this history.
Pierre: Yep. Strong allegory plus extremely original.
Apa harapan Anda untuk FFD juga para sineas?
Makiko: Don’t think too much.
Pierre: Go your heart; with your gut, with your heart. And just tell us a good story. Make us discover stuff. Make emotions. There are three things that make a good movie: good story, good story, and good story. I think when you make a really good story, you tell a good story, even if it is super simple, you can reach a gold. It’s already 21 years. It’s quite long. Long live Festival Film Dokumenter Yogyakarta.
Philip: The Indonesian writer, Budi Darma, has a favorite quote: after winter there must be spring. So that’s my hope for the festival. ‘Cause all this is spring. It’s been a great experience for all of us. We were impressed.