Tasa Nugraza Barley | June 19, 2011
While the months long Hollywood movie drought may soon be over, there is another type of film that has been in short supply for much longer — local children’s movies.
Each year, there are, on average, only one or two local movies that are produced specifically for children. Andra Fembriarto, a filmmaker who has worked on numerous projects aimed at kids, said the lack of quality children’s entertainment was alarming. He believes most Indonesian kids grow up watching inappropriate shows like sinetron (soap operas) or foreign kids’ programs.
Andra said watching local movies was important for children to learn to be proud of their national identity.
“If there were a lot of Indonesian children’s movies, children could be proud of their country,” he said. “Later in life, they wouldn’t feel the need to buy foreign products all the time.”
Andra and a group of like-minded filmmakers decided that they needed an event to highlight the importance of children’s movies. In 2009, they launched the annual Goelali Children’s Film Festival.
Now in it’s third year, the festival will be held from Wednesday to Sunday at Gandaria City mall in South Jakarta.
Andra, who serves as the event’s film coordinator, said public support for the festival had been “enormous.”
“People support this film festival because, for families with young children, there is a real need for events like this.”
While the festival features a number of children’s films from around the world, Andra said there were several Indonesian movies that deserved special attention, including “Anak Ajaib” (“Magical Child”), “Laskar Cilik” (The Little Warriors), and “Petualangan 100 Jam” (“The 100-Hour Adventure”).
“Anak Ajaib” (2008) tells the story of 10-year-old Rizky, who suddenly gains extraordinary superpowers after having a dream. “Laskar Cilik” (2010) is a movie about students who have an adventure during a school holiday. And “Petualangan 100 Jam” (2004), featuring child-star Joshua Suherman, tells the story of a boy who travels to Jakarta.
According to Andra, these movies never received enough publicity or exposure during their initial runs. He’s hoping that, by promoting them through the festival, he can inspire the local film industry to produce more movies aimed at kids – a hugely untapped market, he adds.
One of the festival’s volunteers, 22-year-old college student Vinessia William Putri, said movies can also be an effective form of education for children.
“Unlike school, movies can teach things in more entertaining ways,” she said.
Vinessia said she was interested in watching some of the older Indonesian children’s movies which will be screened at the festival, such as 1979’s “Ira Maya dan Kakek Ateng” (“Ira Maya and Grandpa Ateng”) and 1981’s “Tangan-Tangan Mungil” (“Tiny Hands”). Besides Indonesian movies, the festival is also scheduled to feature several foreign films, including animated features from Japan and Denmark.
The Japanese cartoon, “Light of the River” (2009), tells the story of a young black rat named Tarta who, along with his baby brother and their father, is uprooted when his home on a riverbank is destroyed by a construction project. The family then has to go on a journey to find a safe place to live.
“The Apple and the Worm,” from Denmark, is about Torben, an apple that dreams of being placed in a supermarket’s fruit department and becoming the most beautiful, perfect apple in the whole store. But his dream is ruined when he finds out he has a worm living inside him.
At the event, audiences will also be able to watch the finalists from a short-film competition for Indonesian teenagers. There will also be a number of classes, including workshops on filmmaking techniques such as stop-motion animation, costume design and special effects.
While there is a nominal fee to participate in the workshops, Andra said the film screenings are “completely free,” although guests will need to reserve tickets before the show.
Last year’s Goelali Festival managed to attract over 5,000 people. Andra said the festival’s organizers were hoping to get even more people to come this year, especially kids.
“I hope a lot of children can come and just have a great time.”
Article on Jakarta Globe
While the months long Hollywood movie drought may soon be over, there is another type of film that has been in short supply for much longer — local children’s movies.
Each year, there are, on average, only one or two local movies that are produced specifically for children. Andra Fembriarto, a filmmaker who has worked on numerous projects aimed at kids, said the lack of quality children’s entertainment was alarming. He believes most Indonesian kids grow up watching inappropriate shows like sinetron (soap operas) or foreign kids’ programs.
Andra said watching local movies was important for children to learn to be proud of their national identity.
“If there were a lot of Indonesian children’s movies, children could be proud of their country,” he said. “Later in life, they wouldn’t feel the need to buy foreign products all the time.”
Andra and a group of like-minded filmmakers decided that they needed an event to highlight the importance of children’s movies. In 2009, they launched the annual Goelali Children’s Film Festival.
Now in it’s third year, the festival will be held from Wednesday to Sunday at Gandaria City mall in South Jakarta.
Andra, who serves as the event’s film coordinator, said public support for the festival had been “enormous.”
“People support this film festival because, for families with young children, there is a real need for events like this.”
While the festival features a number of children’s films from around the world, Andra said there were several Indonesian movies that deserved special attention, including “Anak Ajaib” (“Magical Child”), “Laskar Cilik” (The Little Warriors), and “Petualangan 100 Jam” (“The 100-Hour Adventure”).
“Anak Ajaib” (2008) tells the story of 10-year-old Rizky, who suddenly gains extraordinary superpowers after having a dream. “Laskar Cilik” (2010) is a movie about students who have an adventure during a school holiday. And “Petualangan 100 Jam” (2004), featuring child-star Joshua Suherman, tells the story of a boy who travels to Jakarta.
According to Andra, these movies never received enough publicity or exposure during their initial runs. He’s hoping that, by promoting them through the festival, he can inspire the local film industry to produce more movies aimed at kids – a hugely untapped market, he adds.
One of the festival’s volunteers, 22-year-old college student Vinessia William Putri, said movies can also be an effective form of education for children.
“Unlike school, movies can teach things in more entertaining ways,” she said.
Vinessia said she was interested in watching some of the older Indonesian children’s movies which will be screened at the festival, such as 1979’s “Ira Maya dan Kakek Ateng” (“Ira Maya and Grandpa Ateng”) and 1981’s “Tangan-Tangan Mungil” (“Tiny Hands”). Besides Indonesian movies, the festival is also scheduled to feature several foreign films, including animated features from Japan and Denmark.
The Japanese cartoon, “Light of the River” (2009), tells the story of a young black rat named Tarta who, along with his baby brother and their father, is uprooted when his home on a riverbank is destroyed by a construction project. The family then has to go on a journey to find a safe place to live.
“The Apple and the Worm,” from Denmark, is about Torben, an apple that dreams of being placed in a supermarket’s fruit department and becoming the most beautiful, perfect apple in the whole store. But his dream is ruined when he finds out he has a worm living inside him.
At the event, audiences will also be able to watch the finalists from a short-film competition for Indonesian teenagers. There will also be a number of classes, including workshops on filmmaking techniques such as stop-motion animation, costume design and special effects.
While there is a nominal fee to participate in the workshops, Andra said the film screenings are “completely free,” although guests will need to reserve tickets before the show.
Last year’s Goelali Festival managed to attract over 5,000 people. Andra said the festival’s organizers were hoping to get even more people to come this year, especially kids.
“I hope a lot of children can come and just have a great time.”
Article on Jakarta Globe
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