Catatan Tentang Forum Festival Panel III
Catatan Panel 3 Forum Festival ARKIPEL homoludens
Bulan Februari tahun ini, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan melalui situs resminya menyatakan bahwa setidaknya terdapat 18 sekolah menengah kejuruan (SMK) yang akan direvitalisasi untuk menjadi SMK perfileman.[1] Hal ini tentu membawa angin segar bagi industri perfileman dan Indonesia secara keseluruhan. Sudah menjadi rahasia umum, bahwa pendidikan dan jurusan ilmu seni seringkali dianaktirikan di negara berkembang yang lebih sayang dengan kemajuan pendidikan di bidang IPTEK ini. Hingga artikel ini diturunkan, Dikti mencatat hanya 17 sekolah filem aktif yang tersebar di seluruh Indonesia.[2]
Hal ini kemudian menimbulkan berbagai pertanyaan akan pendidikan filem di Indonesia, setidaknya bagi saya. Bagaimana kondisi sebenarnya sekolah filem di Indonesia? Tantangan apa saja yang dialami oleh sekolah filem di Indonesia saat ini dan di masa mendatang? Apakah sekolah filem masih diperlukan di Indonesia?
Forum Festival Panel ke-3, sebagai rangkaian acara ARKIPEL homoludens – 6th Jakarta International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival 2018 berusaha mendiskusikan kegelisahan itu. Forum diskusi yang diselenggarakan pada 8 Agustus 2018 dan bertempat di GoetheHaus, Goethe-Institut Jakarta ini mengundang 3 panelis yang memang aktif berkecimpung di dunia akademik perfileman di Indonesia. Mengangkat tema “Pendidikan Filem Sekarang dan di Masa Mendatang” dengan dimoderatori oleh Manshur Zikri, forum ini dimulai dengan pengenalan ketiga panelis. Panelis yang akan mengisi forum diskusi adalah Choiru Pradhono (akademisi filem dari Institut Seni Indonesia, Padangpanjang), Kus Sudarsono (akademisi filem dari Universitas Multimedia Nusantara) dan Ifa Isfansyah (sutradara filem dan penggagas Jogja Film Academy). Zikri mengatakan bahwa minimnya ruang diskusi intelektual yang membahas institusi formal perfileman di Indonesia menjadi alasan di balik pemilihan tema diskusi panel. Melihat bahwa sebagian besar partisipan dari forum-forum ARKIPEL berasal dari kalangan mahasiswa dan pegiat komunitas, maka diharapkan forum ini dapat menjembatani pertanyaan seputar masalah dan geliat institusi filem Indonesia dewasa ini. Forum diskusi siang itu dihadiri oleh 19 partisipan.
Choiru Pradhono membuka diskusi dengan menjelaskan adanya ketidakseimbangan di antara mahasiswa sekolah filem, khususnya di dalam sektor jalur tugas akhir. Terdapat dua jalur tugas akhir di sekolah filem pada umumnya; jalur tugas akhir penciptaan dan tugas akhir pengkajian filem. Mahasiswa jurusan filem yang memilih jalur tugas akhir penciptaan diharapkan untuk membuat karya filem yang sesuai dengan visi-misi yang diusung sekolah filem. Adapun mahasiswa yang memilih jalur tugas akhir pengkajian filem, ditugaskan untuk membuat analisis ilmiah terkait filem dengan teori yang ada. Menurut Choiru, jumlah peminat jalur tugas akhir pengkajian filem sejak zaman ia masih berkuliah dulu hingga sekarang memang selalu minim. Jalur tugas akhir penciptaan lebih laris manis karena di antaranya terdapat pandangan bahwa mahasiswa jurusan filem memang seharusnya menghasilkan karya filem. Sedangkan tugas pengkajian justru identik dengan mahasiswa yang sekedar ingin cepat lulus.
Kurangnya ruang diskusi dan evaluasi dalam setiap proses penciptaan filem menjadi salah satu penyebab minimnya minat mahasiswa untuk menjadi pengkaji filem. Setidaknya, hal inilah yang terjadi di daerah Padangpanjang, bagi Choiru.
Pembahasan dilanjutkan oleh Kus Sudarsono yang telah mempersiapkan presentasi berjudul “Reforming Film Teaching through Online Platform”. Secara garis besar, Kus menitikberatkan pada upaya modernisasi pendidikan filem – yang selama ini lebih banyak dilakukan dengan metode tradisional dengan datang dan belajar di kelas – dengan menggunakan metode e-learning. Selama ini, Kus melihat bahwa pendidikan filem terasa lebih eksklusif bagi kalangan mahasiswa yang mapan secara finansial atau memang lebih pintar. Metode ini diharapkan bisa menjadi jawaban dari kurangnya program pendidikan filem di Indonesia. Namun, Kus juga menyadari bahwa metode belajar online tidak dapat sepenuhnya diterapkan dalam pendidikan filem karena kebutuhan akan adanya kegiatan kolektif seperti diskusi, membuat filem dan lain-lain. Ia pun mencontohkan metode blended learning yang menggabungkan antara metode belajar tradisional dan online, yang juga ia terapkan di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara.
Selanjutnya, Ifa Isfansyah lebih banyak bercerita tentang sejarah lahirnya Jogja Film Academy. Yogyakarta sebagai kota dengan iklim seni yang mendukung dan terus berkembang, membuat Ifa tergerak untuk membentuk sekolah filem. Sebagai akademisi yang juga aktif memproduksi filem, ia menegaskan pentingnya institusi formal bagi pendidikan filem. Secara formal, sekolah filem menjadi sebuah ruang yang tepat dan bersifat berkelanjutan bagi kelangsungan budaya sinema yang terus tumbuh sekaligus menjawab tantangan baru di era digital.
Forum diskusi dilanjutkan dengan sesi tanya jawab. Terdapat 3 pertanyaan yang dilontarkan bagi panelis. Pertanyaan pertama dari Zikri adalah soal peran lembaga akademis dalam memberi efek signifikan terhadap penciptaan filem. Ifa dan Choiru sepakat bahwa sekolah filem memberikan ruang bagi tradisi dan proses pengajaran yang lebih sistematis serta tidak bisa didapatkan di tempat lain. Adapun Kus berpendapat bahwa pada dasarnya signifikansi yang dihasilkan bergantung pada kualitas sekolah dan mahasiswa itu sendiri. Pertanyaan kedua oleh Kevin dari Yogyakarta menyinggung kebutuhan akan jalur tugas akhir pengkajian filem di masa mendatang. Senada dengan Kevin, pertanyaan ketiga oleh Hafiz menyoalkan kecenderungan sekolah filem yang lebih praktikal dan kurang menitikberatkan kajian cita-cita kebudayaannya. Hafiz juga menyinggung tanggung jawab sekolah filem dalam menentukan poros perfileman Indonesia dan kurangnya praktek ekshibisi dari sekolah filem.
Menjawab kedua pertanyaan tersebut, ketiga panelis setuju akan adanya perbedaan karakter dan kecenderungan sistem dari setiap sekolah filem. Yogya Film Academy, misalnya, memang dibentuk sebagai sekolah vokasional yang menitikberatkan teknis. Sedangkan Universitas Multimedia Nusantara didasarkan pada elemen bisnis. Kus mengiyakan bahwa terdapat batasan-batasan untuk sekolah filem. “Dari segi kurikulum, ada SOP dari Dikti. Kita memang harus bertanya kepada industri (akan kebutuhan yang diperlukan). Kalo nyeleneh dari situ, akan timbul pertanyaan.” jelas Kus. Ia menambahkan bahwa pengkajian filem masih dibutuhkan dewasa ini di dunia yang mengagungkan data karena masih jarang dilakukan. Festival filem pun sudah banyak dilakukan, namun memang masih kurang dari segi pemasaran. Pada akhirnya, peran sekolah filem dalam menentukan poros perfilman Indonesia pun menjadi pertanyaan tak terjawab dari ketiga panelis dan menjadi pekerjaan rumah bagi sekolah filem di masa kini dan mendatang.
[1] Kemendikbud Siap Revitalisasi 18 SMK Menjadi SMK Perfilman.Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.(14 Februari 2018). diakses dari situs https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/main/blog/2018/02/kemendikbud-siap-revitalisasi-18-smk-menjadi-smk-perfilman pada 8 Agustus 2018.
[2] Dikutip dari data yang dipresentasikan oleh Kus Suhardono dalam Panel 3 Forum Festival ARKIPEL homoludens pada 8 Agustus 2018.
Catatan Tentang Forum Festival Panel III
Notes on Forum Festival Panel 3 ARKIPEL homoludens
Last February, The Ministry of Education and Culture, from its website, has announced its plan to revitalise, at least, 18 vocational high schools to be film schools.[1] This news brought an oasis for the film industry and Indonesia. There’s a constant oft-heard mantra in Indonesia, that film education and studies could not be considered as necessary as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) studies. Until this article was written, Ministries of Research, Technology and Higher Education stated that there are only 17 active film schools from all over Indonesia.[2] This knowledge makes me wonder about film education in Indonesia. How is the real condition of the film school in Indonesia? What kind of challenges that Indonesian film schools have encountered today and for the future? Is film school still needed and relevant in Indonesia?
The third panel of Forum Festival, as a part of ARKIPEL homoludens – 6th Jakarta International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival 2018 tried to discuss this concernment. This discussion forum, which was held on August 8th 2018 and taken place at GoetheHaus, Goethe-Institute Jakarta, invited 3 panellists who actively work in film academic world in Indonesia. With “Film Education: Current and Future Practice” as the panel’s theme and Manshur Zikri as the moderator, the forum was started by the introduction of all panellists. The panellists were Choiru Pradhono (film academic from Indonesia Art Institute, Padangpanjang), Kus Sudarsono (film academic from Universitas Multimedia Nusantara) and Ifa Isfansyah (film director and founder of Jogja Film Academy). Zikri said that the lack of intellectual discussion space has become the main reason for today’s panel’s theme. Considering that most of the participants in ARKIPEL Forum Festival are from college students and community activists, it was very expected from this forum to tackle every question about Indonesian film schools today. The forum was attended by 19 participants that afternoon.
Choiru Pradhono opened the discussion by explaining the imbalance in film students, particularly in their final project paths. Generally, there are two final project paths in film school; film production and final essay writing. The film students who chose film production as their final project are expected to make a film that correlates with the school’s vision and mission. Meanwhile, the film students who chose essay writing as their final project are expected to make a scientific analyses about film by using film theories. Choiru believed that the lack of amount of students choosing essay writing as their final project had been a recurring problem since he was still a film student until now. The reason why film production final project has encountered soaring popularity is that there’s a pressure as a film student to produce a film. At the same time, the essay writing has been considered as merely an ‘instant’ route to graduate for those who simply want to graduate fast.
The lack of space for discussion and evaluation in every film-making process might be one of many reasons on why the film students don’t really want to be a film critic. At least, that’s what happened in Padangpanjang, Choiru added.
The discussion was continued by a presentation from Kus Sudarsono, titled “Reforming Film Teaching Through Online Platform”. Overall, Kus was emphasizing the attempt of modernizing film education – which has been commonly done in traditional method by coming and studying in class – by using e-learning method. For Kus, film education is somewhat felt more exclusive for financially wealthy students or the intellectual ones. This learning method is expected to be an answer for the lack of film education in Indonesia. However, Kus also realized that this online method of learning can’t be fully applied in film education because there’s still a need for collective activity such as discussion, film-making and others. He then proposed a blended learning method, which is a mixture of tradition and e-learning method, that he applied on Universitas Multimedia Nusantara.
After that, Ifa Isfansyah gave his presentation about the history of Jogja Film Academy. Yogyakarta, as a city with a supportive art climate which is also keeps on growing, has inspired Ifa to make a film school. As an academic that also actively produces film, Ifa emphasized on the importance of formal institution for film education. Formally, film school provides a convenient and continual space for the sustainability of the ever-growing cinema culture. It also can thrive to answer the new challenges in the digital era.
The discussion forum was continued by the Q & A session. There were three questions for the panellists. The first question came from Zikri, and he asked about the role of the academic institution in making a significant impact on the film-making process. Ifa and Choiru agreed that film school, as mentioned before, gives spaces for a more systematical tradition and learning process, which can’t be afforded in other places. Kus also added that the significance of formal institution relied upon the quality of the schools and students themselves. Kevin from Yogyakarta asked the second question, which addresses the future need for essay writing as the final project in film school. Correlated to Kevin’s question, the third question from Hafiz asked the tendency of film schools of being merely practical and not delved into the studies of cultural ideals. He also questioned the responsibility of film school in determining the axis of Indonesian film and the lack of exhibition events from film schools.
Answering those two questions, all of the panellists agreed that there are differences between every film school’s character and learning system tendency. Yogya Film Academy, for example, was designed to be a vocational school, which relied more upon technical learning. Universitas Multimedia Nusantara, on the other hand, was based on business needs. Kus added by agreeing that there are boundaries for film school. “From curriculum aspect, there’s a standard operating procedure from the Ministry. We need to ask the industry for their needs. If we intentionally divert from the needs, it will be questionable for them.” explained Kus. He later added that essay writing as film students final project is still much needed nowadays, especially in this era that put much weight on data credibility. It is also because there is still a lack of academic film assessment researches. The film festival has also been a common event in Indonesia, although the marketing of the events still needs a lot of work to do. However, the question about the role of film school to determine the axis of Indonesian cinema was still left unanswered. But still, it became one of film school unanswered homework—for today and future practices.
[1] Kemendikbud Siap Revitalisasi 18 SMK Menjadi SMK Perfilman.Kementerian
Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.(14 February 2018). Retrieved from the site of https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/main/blog/2018/02/kemendikbud-siap-revitalisasi-18-smk-menjadi-smk-perfilman on August 8, 2018.
[2] Cited from the data presented Kus Suhardono in the Panel 3 of Forum Festival ARKIPEL homoludens in August 8, 2018.
