Minggu, 23 Agustus 2015, ARKIPEL Grand Illusion – 3rd Jakarta International Documentary & Experimental Film Festival menghelatkan penayangan perdana di Goethe Institute Jakarta pasca pembukaan sehari sebelumnya. Filem- filem yang ditampilkan hari itu masuk ke dalam bagian sesi Kompetisi Internasional, bertajuk kuratorial Traces. Menurut salah satu Komite Seleksi, Andrie Sasono, melalui program ini, ia ingin menunjukkan bahwa sebuah filem mampu menjadi bahan bagi kita untuk berbicara tentang sebuah zaman, masa lalu, dan bahkan masa yang akan datang “Prosesnya hampir tiga bulan, saya dan tim menyeleksi filem-filem yang masuk, sekitar 1200-an,” ujar pria lulusan jurusan filem di IKJ tersebut.

Adapun dua filem yang ditampilkan pada pukul 13.00 WIB adalah Little Girl with Iron Fist (atau Bimba Col Pugno Chiuso) karya dari Luca Mandrile, Claudio di Mambro, dan Umberto Migliaccio dari Italia, yang diproduksi pada tahun 2014. Filem berdurasi 59 Menit ini berkisah tentang perjuangan seorang perempuan tua, Giovanna Marturano, saat melawan rezim fasis di Italia. Sejarah dalam kisah ini tidak tampil melalui serangkaian gambar faktual bergaya kearsip-arsipan yang klise, melainkan digubah ke dalam bentuk animasi petualangan sang gadis mungil yang mengangkat kepalan tangannya yang besar setinggi-tingginya untuk menghadapi rezim fasis yang berkuasa di negaranya kala itu. Sementara itu, filem kedua, berjudul Time and Place, A Talk with My Mom, sebuah kisah pilu seorang ibu yang bersuamikan seniman dan beranak empat hasil garapan seorang sutradara Belanda, Martijn Veldhoen. Di filem ini, Martijn sendiri yang mewawancarai ibunya dalam bentuk dokumenter biografis, sebagai sebuah upaya dari rekonstruksi geneologis antara sutradara dan narasumber sekaligus merupakan ungkapan cinta sang putra untuk ibunya.

Dua filem yang diputar pada pukul 15.00 adalah Grace Period karya duet sutradara muda dari USA dan Korea selatan, Caroline Key dan Kim Kyung-Mook. Filem produksi 2015 ini berkisah tentang kehidupan para pekerja seks komersial di distrik Yeongdeungpo, Seou,l yang terancam penggusuran oleh kepentingan komersial pembangunan pusat belanja dan real estate. Filem dengan narasi lirih suara-suara, keluh kesah dan  harapan para pelacur yang mengalami tekanan, baik oleh masyarakat maupun kekuatan kapital, dan berusaha untuk melawan melalui serangkaian unjuk rasa. Pembingkaian kamera secara kontras memperlihatkan aktivitas siang hari para pekerja itu saat melakukan demontrasi-demontrasi untuk menuntut persamaan hak, sementara area tersebut tampil sebagai satu tempat khusus dalam balutan warna pink bernuansa sensual. Filem terakhir yang diputar, masih dengan tema kurasi Traces, adalah karya sutradara Belanda, Karel Doing, berjudul Dark Matter. Ia berusaha menyusun versinya sendiri mengenai salah satu faset dari kehidupan ayahnya yang enggan terbuka mengenai biografi masa lalunya. Di sini, Karel bermain-main dengan teknik prosesi filem yang menghasilkan bentuk, warna dan ritme yang berkelindan. Hasilnya, sebuah eksperimen visual tentang masa lalu yang merekatkan kembali memori tentang ayahnya yang sudah dikubur dalam-dalam.

Dua orang penonton yang sempat ditemui oleh tim ARKIPEL setelah menonton, kakak-beradik Mevi dan Puti, sama-sama berkomentar tentang filem favorit mereka, yaitu Grace Period.

“Gue suka filem Grace Period, soalnya dia mengangkat temanya dari suatu isu yang lagi deket and happening di Indonesia, penggusuran Gang Dolly di Surabaya, misalnya” ujar Puti, sang kakak yang masih menjadi mahasiswi Fakultas Ilmu Komputer, Universitas Indonesia.

Saat ketika ditanya lebih lanjut, Mevi, sang adik yang masih berseragam SMA Victory Plus, mengatakan bahwa ia senang sekali dengan adanya festival filem ini. “Gue memang suka jenis filem kayak gini (dockumenter—red), nyeleneh dan penuh kritik sosial.”

Keduanya, yang mengaku tahu acara ini dari sebuah media sosial, berniat menonton pemutaran filem lainnya yang ada di ARKIPEL Grand Illusion.

Untuk yang masih penasaran dan ingin menonton keempat filem kategori Kompetisi Internasional bertemakan Traces ini, Anda bisa datang pada penayangan kali keduanya, Hari Jumat, 28 Agustus, 2015, di Kine Forum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, pukul 15.00 dan 19.00 WIB.

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International Competition Traces: Tracing the Past and the Future through Films.

 

Sunday, 23 August 2015, ARKIPEL Grand Illusion – 3rd Jakarta International Documentary & Experimental Film Festival had its first screening in Goethe Institute Jakarta after the opening ceremony the night before. The presented films are part of International Competition slot, entitled Traces. According to one of the Selection Committee, Andrie Sasono, through this program, he wanted to show that film is able to be a matter for us to talk about an era, the past, and even the future “The process went for nearly three months, the team and I selected the submitted films, for more than 1200 films, “said the graduated film student at the Jakarta Arts Institute.

The two films were shown at 13:00 pm is the Little Girl with the Iron Fist (or Bimba Col Pugno Chiuso) the work of Luca Mandrile, Claudio in Mambro, and Umberto Migliaccio of Italy, which was produced in 2014. The film lasts 59 minutes, telling the struggle of an old woman, Giovanna Marturano, against the fascist regime in Italy. History portrayed in this story did not use factual images with the cliché all-raw-archive style; instead they composed it in the form of animated adventures of the little girl who raised her large fist as high as she could to face the fascist regime that ruled the country at that time. Meanwhile, the second film, titled Time and Place, A Talk with My Mom, is a melancholy story of a mother who was married to artist and bore four children, was created by a Dutch director, Martijn Veldhoen. In this film, Martijn who interviewed her in the form of a biographical documentary himself, is an effort of genealogical reconstruction between the director and the speakers, which at the same time, an expression of the love of a son for his mother.

Two films screened at 15.00, firstly was Grace Period by young directors duo from USA and South Korea, Caroline Key and Kim Kyung-Mook. This 2015 production is about the lives of the prostitutes in Yeongdeungpo district, Seoul, who are threatened with eviction by the commercial interests of shopping center construction and real estate. A film delivered with soft narration voices, grief, and expectations from the prostitutes who are under pressure, both by the society and the power of capital, and trying to fight through a series of protests. A contrast camera framing showed daytime activity of the workers during demonstrations to demand equal rights, while the area featured was a particular place with sensual shades of pink. The last film, still with the theme Traces, is the work of Dutch director, Karel Doing, entitled Dark Matter. He tried to make his own version of one facet from the life of his father, who was reluctant to share the biography of his past. Here, Karel playing with the procession of film techniques which form, color and rhythm are intertwined. As a result, a visual experiment of the past that holds back the memory of his father, who was buried deep.

Two spectators, who met with ARKIPEL team after watching, were the siblings, Mevi and Puti, both commented on their favorite films, namely Grace Period.

“I like the film Grace Period, because it raised the theme from an issue that is close and happening in Indonesia, like the eviction Gang Dolly in Surabaya, for example,” said Puti, the older sister who was still a student of the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Indonesia.

Mevi, the younger sister who was still in uniform SMA Victory Plus, said that she was delighted with the film festival. “I really like this kind of film (documenter-red), eccentric and full of social criticism.”

Both of them, who claimed to know this event from a social media, intend to watch screenings of other films in ARKIPEL Grand Illusion.

For those who are curious and want to watch these four International Competition films category titled Traces, you can come for the second screening, Friday, August 28, 2015, in Kineforum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, at 15:00 and 19:00.