Guerrilla of the Yogyakarta Free Cinema

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

The process of editing a film that is in the production stage at Belantara Films, Ngestiharjo Village, Kasihan, Bantul, DI Yogyakarta, Tuesday (2/3/2021).

The birth of many independent film communities in the 2000s has brought talent in Yogyakarta to the forefront of national film-making. Filmmakers in Yogyakarta are not dependent on the industry. The festival has been chosen as a showcase of creativity.

Agni Tirta, 35, stared at the big screen in front of him. He was editing a cut of the film scene. Together with his colleagues, Agni looked at the film scene, then had a discussion.

"This is in the process of editing my second feature film. The title is Dari Hal Waktu (In Terms of Time),” said Agni at the Belantara Films production house in Bantul, Yogyakarta, Tuesday (2/3/2021) afternoon.

Agni began last year the process of making a film about Fajar Suharno, a theater figure in Yogyakarta. Planning for the film had been carried out since August 2020, while the shooting started in November. This experimental documentary combines the true life story of Fajar Suharno and theater scenes created with a number of Yogyakarta artists.

The film, which is produced with the support of the Education and Culture Ministry\'s Cultural Facilitation program, will be released this year. "According to the plan, we will register it at international and domestic film festivals, then screen it in communities," said Agni who is also the chairperson of the Jogja Filmmaker Association.

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Agni is a film director and founder of the Belantara Films production house. He has produced several films, including the long documentary film Rock for Kamtis (2012). His other film Dluwang: The Past from the Trash was nominated for the Best Short Documentary Film at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) in 2017.

The creative process of young filmmakers can develop because the atmosphere of Yogyakarta is very supportive. "Here we have room to experiment. This may be a privilege that friends in Jakarta may not have," said Ninndi Raras, 31, a young director.

DOKUMENTASI MENTARI PROJECT

he process of filming a documentary film entitled "Cipto Rupo" which was directed by Catur Pisticated Raharjo, in 2019.

He recalled that filmmakers in Yogyakarta, including herself, grew up in a solid community. With their respective idealism, they exchanged ideas in the process of working. The space of civilization and human interaction in Yogyakarta seems to be an endless inspiration to be explored.

A director from Yogyakarta, Senoaji Julius, 44, said there were two cities that can be called barometers of film development in Indonesia, namely Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

The characteristics of the two are different. Film activity in Jakarta is more related to the film industry, which is directed to be screened in theaters and television.

Meanwhile, the Yogyakarta cinema world grows without dependence on industry, in the context of funding and marketing networks. Many Yogyakarta filmmakers rely more on film festivals to introduce their work.

"Starting in 2000, there have been more film creators whose circuit is in festivals, not in the industry," said the founder of the Hompimpa Sinema Nusantara production house.

Independence

In the book Mapping of Yogyakarta Filmmakers (2015), Dyna Herlina et al noted that the breath of most Yogyakarta film workers was independence. However, independence here is not a question of developing a separate artistic idea or a movement to free itself from certain political-economic powers, but rather self-reliance due to circumstances and separation.

Most of these communities were founded by students at various universities.

The proliferation of film activities in Yogyakarta is not without process. Dyna Herlina, who is also a lecturer in Communication Science at Yogyakarta State University, said that the development of cinema in the city began with the emergence of independent communities in the 2000s. Most of these communities were founded by students at various universities.

ARSIP SATRIA DEWA STUDIO

The shooting atmosphere of the film Satria Dewa Gatotkaca in Yogyakarta, on September 25, 2020.

Apart from the communities, the factor which plays an important role is the large number of screenings and film festivals. The screenings, which are usually followed by discussion of independent films, becomes a free stage for promotion, while the festivals serve as a financing loophole because it offers prize money.

"On the other hand, knowledge about filmmaking begins to spread with the film workshop (training) being held in Yogyakarta," said Dyna.

Alternative film screenings and the holding of film festivals in Yogyakarta, such as the Documentary Film Festival and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF), have made the filming of "Kota Gudeg" becoming more vibrant.

Moreover, Yogyakarta has an Indonesian Art Institute with a Faculty of Recording Media Arts and a Multimedia Training Center (MMTC). Most recently, in 2014 the Jogja Film Academy was born, among others, initiated by filmmaker Ifa Isfansyah. Combined with the work of theater and culture, this educational foundation strengthens the world of cinema in Yogyakarta.

Now it is no exaggeration to say that Yogyakarta has become a barometer for film development. Through cinema, Yogyakarta\'s young people express their creativity without depending on an established industry. They dare to liberate ideas for authentic works.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).