Getting to Know Documentary Ecosystem at the First Meeting of DOC FORUM

— Program Highlight
FFD 2022

Yogyakarta, November 15, 2022 – This day was the first day of the DOC Forum 2022 program in Festival Film Dokumenter. DOC Forum is an intensive workshop program attended by 13 documentary film communities from several regions in Indonesia. At today’s meeting, the topic of intensive discussion talked about the documentary film ecosystem definitively and how it practices its branches. The lively discussion was held in GAIA Cosmo Hotel. The speakers for this discussion were Vivian Idris, as the representative of Badan Perfilman Indonesia (Indonesian Film Board) and Zakiah, the deputy director of In-Docs.

The discussion first talked about the supporting variable of the film ecosystem itself. Primarily, there are six items that should be in synergy to create a balanced ecosystem; education, production, distribution, appreciation, exhibition, and archiving. These six items must go hand in hand and support each other. After the discussion session that explored the documentary film ecosystem, Alia Damaihati, as the Director of the FFD Program, invited the participants of the DOC Forum to introduce themselves and tell how the film ecosystem in each community’s area. This was initiated to gain insight regarding pluralism of the Indonesian documentary film ecosystem. The participants of DOC Forum were also enthusiastic in providing an overview of their respective film ecosystems. It is hoped that by analyzing the individual aspects of each region’s film, participants can get references to move the wheel of the film ecosystem in Indonesia. 

Following the topic discussion, the participants were given material about mapping of the film ecosystem. It mapped out the problems faced regarding the six items of the film ecosystem. All forum participants took part in this mapping process. The participants lived the discussion by giving opinions, and asking questions. This closed discussion aims to share experiences and to bond  between the people involved in making documentary films for a better documentary ecosystem in the future.

 

DOC ⁠Forum program will be held until November 19, 2022. This workshop will discuss the dynamics of Indonesian documentary production and distribution which will be led by a panel consisting of practitioners and documentary researchers from Indonesia and internationally.