Catatan tentang “Voices: Sinema Alternatif Nepal”
Kisah Nepal sebagai negara bekembang dan perjuangan serta tantangannya diungkapkan dalam program Asian Young Curator bertajuk “Voices: Sinema Alternatif Nepal”. Program ini dikuratori oleh Nischal Oli, seorang produser seni, kurator, dan penulis yang berbasis di Kathmandu, Nepal dan pendiri Kala Kosh (institusi yang berniat mendefinisikan ulang konteks dalam seni yang diciptakan di Nepal secara global). Program ini dilaksanakan pada 22 Agustus, 2016, bertempat di Kineforum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, pukul 19:00 WIB.
Nischal Oli.
Terdapat 2 filem fiksi dan 2 filem dokumenter yang ditayangkan pada program ini. The Contagious Apparitions of Dambary Dendrite (2013) karya Bibhushan Basnet dan Pooja Gurung adalah filem yang kental nuansa fiksinya, ditandai dengan animasi tiga dan dua dimensi di dalamnya. Filem ini berkisah tentang Dambarey dan kawan-lawannya yang hidup di jalanan, rutin mengkonsumsi lem dendrit sebagai pelarian dari kehidupan yang dijalani mereka. Hal ini menyebabkan halusinasi yang membawa sekawanan itu kepada petualangan, kesenangan, keseruan, serta ketegangan di antara mereka.
Cuplikan filem Contagious Apparitions of Dambary Dendrite (2013) karya Bibhushan Basnet and Pooja Gurung.
Abarohan or Descent (2013) oleh Karan Shrestha juga merupakan fiksi yang menggambarkan ketidaksiapan masyarakat pedesaan di desa terhadap perubahan cepat akibat benda asing yang masuk ke sana. Ketidakmampuan unuk menghadapi realitas ini diilustrasikan oleh dua anak laki-laki yang berubah persahabatannya karena benda asing tersebut. Let Us Build A Home Mother (2015), yang juga karya Karan Shrestha. Filem ini masih menggunakan lokasi yang sama di Kot Kanda, Nepal, berkisah tentang gempa bumi yang melanda Nepal pada tahun 2015. Filem dokumenter berdurasi 4 menit ini menunjukkan rumah-rumah yang berubah menjadi puing-puing dan dinarasikan oleh seorang wanita korban gempa bumi tersebut, menggambarkan kesulitan yang melanda korban-korban tersebut.
Tashi’s Turbine (2014) karya Amitabh Joshi berupa filem dokumenter berdurasi 57 menit mengikuti kisah Tashi dan seorang kawannya yang ingin membantu masyarakat terpencil dengan membuat turbin angin untuk ketersediaan listrik. Kisah perjalanan dan perjuangannya dalam upaya membuat lampu penerangan yang didambakan masyarakat terpencil tersebut dilanda berbagai tantangan. Dari perdebatan dengan sesama penduduk atas lokasi penerangan sampai tantangan teknis dalam rakitan turbin, dihadapi Tashi dan kawannya bersama penduduk lokal demi mewujudkan cita-cita mereka.
Sama seperti di program-program lainnya yang saya hadiri, pertanyaan mengenai sumber biaya dan dukungan pihak-pihak eksternal dalam produksi filem lagi-lagi ditanyakan. Jawabannya pun serupa. Tidak ada dukungan dari pihak pemerintah untuk filem-filem independen, sehingga si pembuat filem harus mencari akal dalam membiayai produksi filemnya.
Sayang sekali dari 38 penonton yang hadir, tidak ada yang memicu diskusi tentang Nepal yang terkurung dalam keadaan hilangnya politik, menjadikan keadaan konstan dalam realitas sosial penduduk Nepal. Meskipun begitu, sutradara-sutrada empat filem ini telah sukses dalam mengangkat isu-isu kontemporer, yang perlahan menjadi sinema alternatif Nepal.
Notes on “Voices: Alternative Nepali Cinema”
The story of Nepal as well as the struggle of this developing country and the challenge is disclosed in Asian Young Curator program titled Voices: Alternative Nepali Cinema. The program is curated by Nischal Oli, an art producer, curator, and writer based in Kathmandu, Nepal and founder of Kala Kosh (institutions that want to redefine the context in which art is created in Nepal globally). The program is held on August 22, 2016, at Kineforum, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, 19:00 pm.
There are two fiction films and two documentary films screened on the program. The Contagious Apparitions of Dambary Dendrite (2013) by Bibhushan Basnet and Pooja Gurung is a film with strong nuance of fiction marked with its three and two-dimensional animation in it. This film is about Dambarey and his friends who live on the streets, regularly consume dendrites glue as an escape from life they loie in. It causes hallucinations which brought this lot to an adventure, happiness, excitement, and tension between them.
Abarohan or Descent (2013) by Karan Shrestha is also a fiction that depicts the unpreparedness of the people from rural village towards the volatility due to foreign objects that seep through there. The inability to face this reality is illustrated by two boys whose friendship changed because these foreign objects. Let Us Build A Home Mother (2015), which also work of Karan Shrestha, was first played. The film is still using the same location in Kot Kanda, Nepal, tells about the earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. This 4-minutes documentary film shows the homes were turned into rubble and narrated by a female victim of the earthquake, illustrates the difficulties that plagued the casualties.
Tashi’s Turbine (2014) Amitabh Joshi’s work in the form of 57 minutes length documentary film follows the story of Tashi and another friend who want to help isolated communities by making wind turbines for electricity supply. The journey story and his struggle in the effort to make lighting coveted the remote communities are plagued by challenges. From the debate with fellow residents on the location for lighting up to the technical challenges in assembling the turbine fell upon Tashi and his friend with the locals, to achieve their goals.
Just like in other programs that I attended, the question of funding and support of external parties in the film production were mentioned again. The answer is similar. There is no support from the government for independent films, so the filmmakers had to find a way to finance their own film production.
It’s a pity that from 38 spectators in attendance, there was nothing to spark discussion about Nepal, who confined in a state of political loss, to result a constant state in the social reality of the Nepalis. Nevertheless, the directors of these four films have been successful in raising the contemporary issues, which is slowly becoming the Nepal alternative cinema.
