Get to know the films playing the 2015 Indonesian Film Festival at ACMI in Melbourne

The 10th Indonesian Film Festival (IFF) will be held from 9th to 18th April at ACMI in Melbourne. The team from Hello Asia showcases the ten (plus one educational) Indonesian films that will be showing at IFF 2015.

Opening Night Film – 3 Nafas Likas (Likas’ 3 Breaths)

7pm – Thursday 9th April, 2015

Set in Indonesia, through the 1930s to 2000. 3 Nafas Likas (Likas’ 3 Breaths) is an inspiring true story based on the life of an extraordinary woman, named Likas (Atiqah Hashiholan) who have attained numerous remarkable and admirable accomplishments in her life. Her motivations are her promises to the three most important people in her life. Three promises that become her breath in everything she does. Three promises to always fight and survive in life.

Meet the Director and Lead Actress + Q&A Session.

Di Balik 98 (Behind 98)

7pm – Friday 10th April, 2015

Set based on May 1998 tragedy where reformation that lead to the fall of President Suharto and the unrest of college students occurred in Indonesia, Dibalik 98 (In Behind 98) tells a story of a college student who decides to become an activist and faces opposition from her family of soldiers. In the chaotic and dangerous situation she continues to run protests with her lover and fellow activists endangering everyone. As the situation goes out of control, many have yet able to locate their family members, up till today.

Meet the Director and Lead Actress + Q&A Session.

7/24

6:45pm – Saturday 11th April, 2015

Prasetyo ‘Tyo’ Ichsan Setiawan (Lukman Sardi), a famous film director, is married to Tania Wulandary (Dian Sastrowardoyo), a manager at one of the prestigious banks. Both have a child who is five years old. Both are workaholics with precious little family time. One day Tyo is hospitalized after collapsing during a film shoot. Soon, Tania finds herself juggling between work, home and taking care of Tyo. After three days, Tania also burns out and finds herself sharing the same hospital room with her husband.
Finally, after years of marriage and spending little time together, Tyo and Tania are stuck with each other for 7 days 24 hours. Secrets which have been kept neatly begin to manifest. From sweet beginnings the situation turns into a comical battleground.

Meet the Producer and Lead Actor + Q&A Session.

Kapan Kawin? (When Will You Get Married?)

6:45pm – Sunday 12th April, 2015

Dinda (Adinia Wirasti) has a successful career in Jakarta. However, her parents, Gatot (Adi Kurdi) and Dewi (Ivanka Kelvin), always criticize her for what they see as her one big shortcoming: being unmarried. Dinda is in her 30s and is still single.
Tired of being criticized by her parents, Dinda plans to hire an idealistic actor, Satria (Reza Rahadian) to act as her boyfriend and attend her parent’s wedding anniversary party in Yogyakarta. Dinda’s plan, which originally is just a short solution for her problem, turns out to be a bigger problem than she ever imagined. Chaos and hilarity ensue as Dinda juggles between Satria, who ignores Dinda’s scenario and eccentrically charms her parents, and her parents, Gatot and Dewi who secretly have their own plans for her.

Meet the Producer and Supporting Actress + Q&A Session.

Siti

7pm – Monday 13th April, 2015

Siti (Sekar Sari), 24 years old, has to take care of her mother-in-law, Darmi, her son, Bagas, and her crippled husband, Bagus. Bagus suffered an accident while fishing the year before, resulting in his paralysis, and his new boat that was purchased with borrowed money was lost at sea. Siti has to work day and night to feed her family. By day, she sells snacks; by night, she works as a karaoke hostess. Tainted by her night-time employment, Siti finds her husband no longer speaks to her. In a karaoke bar, Siti meets a cop named Gatot, to whom she is attracted and he proposes to marry her. Frustrated and confused, Siti has to choose what is best for her happiness.

Meet the Director + Q&A Session.

Tes Nyali (Test of Fear)

7pm – Tuesday 14th April, 2015

Irma, Sinta, Pingkan, Andi, Frans, and Alex are in charge of making a reality TV program called the Test of Fear. This time the events are held in a spooky abandoned hospital. Before work, Alex tells Irma that he had a disturbing dream about the crew being trapped in an old building. In the old building they meet a young man called Joko, and an old woman named Marni who is looking for her granddaughter in the building. As the scheduled program participants do not turn up on the set, Budi asks Marni to be the participant. As filming starts, things begin to go inexplicably wrong. Cameras fail, lights go out, some of the crew are lost, and pretty soon it becomes a fight to get out of the building alive.

Meet the Producer and the Director + Q&A Session.

Tabula Rasa

6:45pm – Wednesday 15th April, 2015

Tabula Rasa tells the story of Hans (Jimmy Kobogau), a young man from Serui, Papua, who dreams of becoming a professional football player. His dream almost becomes a reality when a football club in Jakarta recruits him. Yet, fate has a different agenda and Hans has to see his dream shattered. In the midst of despair, he meets Mak (Dewi Irawan), the owner of a simple Minang restaurant (lapau). Mak then invites Hans to her lapau. A bowl of warm fish head curry and Mak’s compassion reignites Hans’s will to live and he begins working in the kitchen. Hans’s presence evokes resentment from Parmanto (Yayu Unru) the cook and Natsir (Ozzol Ramdan) the waiter. Things get worse when a competitor arrives just across from their simple lapau – a new, much bigger Minang restaurant. Hans, Mak, Natsir and Parmanto have to settle their problems to save their lapau. The fight is on to get customers!

Meet the Director and Scriptwriter + Q&A Session.

Love and Faith

7pm – Thursday 16th April, 2015

Love and Faith is a film based on the true story of a man named Karmaka Surjaudaja or Kwee Tjie Hoei (Rio Dewanto). Born in Hokja, Fujian Province, China in 1934, he was initially known as a teacher in Bandung from 1937 to 1967. But after marrying a woman named Lim Kwei Ing (Laura Basuki), he received a mandate from his parents in law to save a bank, which at the time was struggling through a transition period and difficult economic situations.

Meet the Producer and Lead Actress + Q&A Session.

Angker (Haunted)

7pm – Friday 17th April, 2015

Angker (Haunted) is based on an alleged true story from the Bangil area, East Java, in 1979. Harun and Ratna, with their three children, move into a house where strange unexplained phenomena disturb their lives. The incidents become more frightening and they seek the help of a local psychic to cleanse the house of evil spirits. Their investigations uncover a terrible secret. The site which their house is built upon was the scene of a shaman witchcraft massacre.

Meet the Producer and Director + Q&A Session.

Closing Night Film – Jalanan (Streetside)

6:45pm – Saturday 18th April, 2015

A film about Indonesia, street music, love, prison, politics, sex, corruption, rice fields, globalization and heartache! Jalanan (Streetside) tells the captivating story of Boni, Ho & Titi, three gifted, charismatic street musicians in Jakarta, over a tumultuous 5-year period in their own lives and that of Indonesia. The film follows the young marginalized musicians and their never before seen sub-culture, while also painting a striking, moody and intimate portrait of Indonesia’s frenzied capital city. Using the powerful soundtrack of the musicians’ original compositions to drive the film, it traces their quest for identity and love in a city overrun by the effects of globalization and corruption. It is a sort of snapshot of the post-reformasi era from the perspective of those caught in that very uncomfortable crack between two phenomena that we celebrate so often: democratization and globalization. Their story is also meant as a provocative mirror through which we, in the more affluent part of the world, can reflect on our own lives and values, learning from the day-to-day perspectives and wisdom of the characters in Jalanan. Ho’s favorite mantra – as he bids farewell to bus passengers after entertaining them (or outraging them) with his songs, is that “Life must be fully lived!”

Meet the Lead Actors + Q&A Session.

Educational Screening – Hasduk Berpola (The Patterned Neckerchief)

10am & 12:45pm – Friday 17th April, 2015

A young boy discovers some truths about life, in this family friendly film suitable for junior students of Indonesian. Budi (Bangkit Prasetyo) lives with his sister Bening (Fay Nabila), widowed mother Rahayu (Iga Mawarni) and grandfather Masnun (Idris Sardi). Despite being a war veteran of the Indonesian struggle for independence, grandfather Masnun finds it hard to provide for the family. The high cost of living in the big city of Surabaya forces them to move back to the old family home in Bojonegoro. It is a very modest house located by the side of the river Bengawan Solo, in East Java. Budi faces all the trials and tribulations of a boy moving to a new town, plus the added problems of their financial hardship and perceived low social standing in this new community. Budi makes friends with the village children, but gains a reputation as a trouble maker at school. He finds himself at odds with Kemal, the leader of a rival group of children from the wealthier establishment. Their rivalry continues as they both join the Indonesian Boy Scouts. Acceptance and success in the Boy Scouts is seen as a true sign of character and patriotism, therefore it means a great deal to the boys. However his family’s poverty prevents him from purchasing the required scout uniform. Budi’s only option is to take second-hand clothes, and his sister sacrifices her bedsheet to make up the obligatory red and white Indonesian scout neckerchief. As various events and misadventures unfold, Budi discovers the true meaning of courage and finds a way to restore his family’s dignity.

The Indonesian Film Festival is screening at ACMI in Melbourne. More details can be seen here IFF 2015 Details

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