Screening of "Memories of My Body" and "Nyai" followed by discussion with Garin Nugroho and Ifan Ismail
4 – 6 PM Screening of Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku (Memories of My Body)
6.30 – 8 PM Discussion with Garin Nugroho and Ifan Ismail
8 – 9.30 PM Screening of Nyai
As one of Indonesia’s most prolific directors, Garin Nugroho has spent the past 38 years crafting cinematic excellence that runs the gamut from poetic to romantic to political. Goethe-Institut Indonesien is delighted to present
Setapak Demi Setapak: 38 Tahun Garin Nugroho Berkarya (Step by Step: 38 Years of Garin Nugroho’s Filmmaking), which will screen 2016’s
Nyai and
2019’s Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku. These two films have been chosen for our
Arthouse Cinema: Extra program due to their correlation with the current realities of Indonesia: how the one-shot technique and the principles of live theatre are employed in
Nyai to evoke awareness on the Indonesian history and the rise of nationalism, or the way that the chronological telling of a male dancer’s life in
Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku depicts how the existence and survival of an Indonesian body are heavily influenced by his surroundings: family tradition, political choice, sexual orientation, and the zeitgeist.
A dialogue between Garin Nugroho and award-winning scriptwriter Ifan Ismail will follow to discuss the two films as well as reflect on how socio-cultural, political, and economic conditions have informed Garin Nugroho’s filmmaking journey for the past 38 years.
Memories of My Body
Juno is just a kid when his father leaves him in their village of Center Java. Abandoned and alone, he joins a Lengger dance centre where men transform assuming feminine appearance and movements. Nevertheless, the sensuality and sexuality that come from dance and bodies, mixed with the violent social and political situation of Indonesia, force Juno to move from village to village. On his journey Juno gets attention and love from his dance teachers, his weird aunty, his old uncle, a handsome boxer and a Warok, he still has to face alone the battlefield that his body is becoming.
Nyai
A story told in 90 minutes realtime. Set in Indonesia’s Dutch colonial era, in 1927, a young and beautiful woman lives with her sick and aged Dutch husband. This woman loses her own name and is called Nyai, which means a foreigner’s concubine, and realizes that she is living in a kind of prison, while she deals with loads of visitors to her residence during the birthday of her sick husband. Nyai’s life cycle while nurturing her husband becomes a drama of solitude about her position in life, all aspects of which have been forcefully taken away from her.
BIOGRAPHIES
Garin Nugroho was born in 1961 in Yogyakarta. Since his debut feature with 1991’s Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a Slice of Bread), his films have been widely regarded as among the finest in the history of Indonesian cinema and screened in international film festivals, including in Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. In addition, Garin also directs music videos and theatre shows, writes newspaper columns and books, and runs JAFF (Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival).
Ifan Ismail is a scriptwriter and storytelling consultant. In 2013, he won an Indonesian Film Festival award for Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Gina S. Noer for Habibie & Ainun. In 2011, he co-authored “Menjegal Film Indonesia: Pemetaan Ekonomi Politik Industri Film Indonesia” (“Tackling Indonesian Cinema: Mapping the Economics and Politics of the Indonesian Film Industry”) with noted film critic Eric Sasono. At present, Ifan serves as Program Coordinator at Kineforum, an alternative screening room initiated by the Jakarta Arts Council.
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