Melampaui Sinema
Melampaui Sinema: Merayakan Persahabatan melalui es Cincau dan Nasi Kuning
Selama enam tahun ARKIPEL – Jakarta International Experimental and Documentary Festival berjalan, Forum Lenteng cukup konsisten dalam memberikan ruang berbagi pengetahuan dan merayakan sinema, dan juga turut mengundang kurator, pembuat, dan pegiat filem dari dalam maupun luar negeri. Namun, dalam beberapa kesempatan, ada tamu festival yang ternyata kurang mengenal Forum Lenteng dan aktivismenya di luar festival ARKIPEL. Untuk melampaui batas-batas formal antara komunitas Forum Lenteng dan tamu festival, maka Forum Lenteng mengundang para tamu untuk bersantap sarapan bersama di kantor Forum Lenteng yang terletak di Jl. Haji Saidi No. 69, Tanjung Barat, pada Minggu, 12 Agustus 2018.
Para tamu mulai berdatangan sejak pukul 08.30 pagi dari hotel dan penginapan mereka di kawasan Cikini. Di antara mereka yang hadir adalah Azar Mahmoudian (juri dan kurator ARKIPEL homoludens), Helen Petts (panelis dan salah satu pembuat filem pada ARKIPEL homoludens), Lauren Howes (Direktur Canadian Filmmaker Distribution Center), kurator Sonal Jain, Isabelle Vander Stockt (distributor filem) serta pembuat filem Takashi Makino, Geonhee Kim, dan Hiroshi Sunairi. Sahabat ARKIPEL sekaligus juri ARKIPEL social/kapital, Scott Miller Berry, serta partisipan Forum Festival Syahrullah dan Rosalia Engchuan juga hadir dalam acara tersebut. Bagi beberapa tamu, ini adalah kunjungan pertama mereka ke markas Forum Lenteng. Memasuki rumah asri itu, mata mereka tak teralihkan dari nirmana berukuran A0 karya pelajar Milisifilem yang terpajang di dinding. “Ini tempat yang bagus,” komentar Takashi Makino saat dihampiri tim berita ARKIPEL.
Makanan mulai disajikan pukul 09.00, dengan menu nasi kuning dan berbagai lauknya. Antrian panjang langsung terbentuk di depan meja komputer yang telah diubah menjadi meja makan. Teman-teman Forum Lenteng sibuk menjelaskan bahan dan kandungan sarapan mereka kepada para tamu internasional. Sarapan berlangsung dengan hangat. Setelah itu, semua orang berkumpul bersama dan bisa langsung berbincang akrab mengenai apa saja. Hafiz Rancajale tampak sedang berbincang serius dengan Azar Mahmoudian dan Sonal Jain pada waktu yang berbeda. Di belakang, Michael Baute membicarakan Milisifilem bersama Otty Widasari dan Manshur Zikri. Isabelle Vander Stockt, Lauren Howes, dan Scott Miller Berry tertarik untuk mengunjungi studio moving image, di mana produksi banyak karya Milisifilem dibuat.
Namun, di ruang tengah, tema obrolan seakan berubah drastis. “Kau juga penggemar sepak bola?” tanya Hiroshi Sunairi kepada Yuki Aditya, dengan nada bersemangat. “Kami semua menggemari sepak bola saat musim Piala Dunia!” Maria Christina Silalahi menjawab. Di halaman depan, Maria Deandra menggebu-gebu menjelaskan perbedaan antara hantu jahat dan arwah baik dalam mistisme lokal Indonesia. Dalam pembicaraan lainnya, ia mendemonstrasikan budaya “jongkok” dalam masyarakat Indonesia, yang direspon oleh Sonal Jain yang mencetuskan bahwa di India banyak toilet jongkok, sama seperti di Indonesia. Berusaha mengikuti pembicaraan, Scott Miller Berry pun mencoba gaya makan jongkok yang konon katanya khas masyarakat Indonesia.
Suasana persahabatan terasa menyenangkan di pagi menjelang siang itu. Perayaan tahunan ARKIPEL yang selalu melibatkan partisipan lokal dan internasional menunjukkan bahwa melalui sinema, kita dapat menjembatani perbedaan bahkan merayakannya bersama. Acara sarapan bersama pagi ini menunjukkan bahwa hubungan tersebut mampu melampaui representasi sinematik yang ditampilkan dalam ARKIPEL di mana ia dapat mewujud dalam interaksi personal yang bersifat keseharian. Karena hari telah beranjak siang, acara ditutup dengan foto bersama, dan disantapnya makanan penutup berupa es cincau dari pedagang yang kebetulan gerobaknya lewat di depan kantor Forum Lenteng.
Beyond Cinema
Beyond Cinema: Celebrating Friendship through Es Cincau and Nasi Kuning
Throughout the six years of ARKIPEL – Jakarta International Experimental and Documentary Festival, Forum Lenteng has been consistent on creating a space to share the knowledge on cinema and the celebration of it, also on inviting curators, filmmakers, and film activists from Indonesia and worldwide. But, some festival guests often are not familiar with Forum Lenteng and its activism outside the ARKIPEL festival. To break the formal boundaries between Forum Lenteng and its guests, Forum Lenteng invited them to a breakfast banquet in Forum Lenteng’s headquarter in Jl. Haji Saidi No. 69, Tanjung Barat, on Sunday, August 12, 2018.
Guests had been arriving since 08.30 AM from their hotel and guesthouse in Cikini. The banquet was attended by Azar Mahmoudian (jury and curator in ARKIPEL homoludens), Helen Petts (panelist and filmmaker), Lauren Howes (Director of Canadian Filmmaker Distribution Center), Sonal Jain (curator), Isabelle Vander Stockt (film distributor), and filmmakers Takashi Makino, Geonhee Kim, and Hiroshi Sunairi who attend ARKIPEL homoludens to present their films. A dear friend of ARKIPEL, also a jury on ARKIPEL social/kapital, Scott Miller Berry, and Forum Festival participants – Syahrullah and Rosalia Engchuan – were also present. For some of the guests, it is their first visit to Forum Lenteng headquarter. Upon entering the breezy house, they looked attentively at the A0-sized nirmanas (abstract drawings) made by Milisifilem participants that were hung on the wall. “It’s a nice place,” Takashi Makino commented when the news team approached him.
Breakfast was served at 09.00 AM, and everyone instantly queued around the makeshift dinner table to get a plate of nasi kuning (yellow rice) and its side dishes. Forum Lenteng folks tried their best to explain the ingredients to the international guests. Everyone ate their breakfast heartily, and after that, came to gather and talk about various topics. Hafiz Rancajale was deeply involved in conversations with Azar Mahmoudian and Sonal Jain. At the back of the house, Michael Baute inquired Otty Widasari and Manshur Zikri about Milisifilem’s practice. Isabelle Vander Stockt, Lauren Howes, and Scott Miller Berry were interested to visit the moving image studio where a lot of Milisifilem works were produced.
But, in the living room, the conversation took a drastic turn. “You’re also a soccer person?” Hiroshi Sunairi asked Yuki Aditya excitedly. “We all are, during the World Cup season!” Maria Christina Silalahi answered. In the front yard, Maria Deandra tried her best to explain the distinction between evil ghosts and good spirits in Indonesia’s local mysticism. On another conversation, she demonstrated the cultural gesture of squatting often practised by Indonesian people, which is responded by Sonal Jain, adding that India also has plenty squatting toilets. Participating in the conversation, Scott Miller Berry tried to eat in a squatting position, also known as another Indonesian cultural gesture.
The atmosphere of friendship was very delightful that morning. The annual ARKIPEL festival that involves local and international guests is proof that through the medium of cinema, we can bridge our differences and even celebrate it all together. On this breakfast banquet, it is evident that this connection can go beyond the cinematic representation displayed in ARKIPEL, where it can manifest in personal, trivial interactions. The afternoon heat stroked, ending our gathering abruptly. The event was ended by a photo session, after enjoying es cincau (grass jelly ice drink) as our dessert, bought from a mobile street food cart that accidentally (fortunately) passed in front of Forum Lenteng.
