Asian Center, Kentucky University, Appalshop Exchange Project

Asia Center, Kentucky University

Appalshop Notes – June 10, 2008 Brief Update

APPALSHOP NOTES

Exchange Project

Appalshop will host fifteen Indonesian media artists from June 7-21, 2008. The Indonesian artists will be working with Appalshop filmmakers and Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) interns to create and exhibit film and audio. The exchange members will present work for festival audiences during Appalshop’s annual Seedtime on the Cumberland, starting with an evening of outdoor screenings on the Seedtime grounds in Whitesburg on Tuesday, June 10.

Throughout the visit, Exchange members will participate in media training sessions and collaborative production with AMI; reciprocal screenings and discussions of films and videos; as well as exposure to the Appalachian region’s history, culture, and social issues through community events and conversations as part of a person-to-person exchange approach.

Appalshop is also hosting Indonesian filmmaker and visual anthropologist Aryo Danusiri as a short-term visiting artist in conjunction with the Exchange Project. He is currently in the United States on a Fulbright Fellowship pursuing a PhD at Harvard University. Aryo is affiliated with the organization RAGAM Media Network. Based in Jakarta, Aryo has made videos in West Papua and Aceh and will be sharing his work throughout Seedtime.

In addition, Appalshop’s youth leadership and media training program the Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) is hosting youth media makers from Texas this week.

Indonesian organizations represented include:
From Sulawesi (previously known as Celebes)
Kiri Depan is a small organization founded in 2006 whose aim is to develop a network between film communities in Makassar (population 1.3 million; capital of South Sulawesi) by producing short films and organizing film screenings.
Komunitas Adat Ngata Toro is located in the village of Ngata Toro, more than 2000 feet above sea level and surrounded by hills and mountains of the remote Lore Lindu National Park’s forest, about 2 to 3 hours drive from Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi. Fifty families live in seven village districts that preserve their environment and indigenous knowledge. Following video training in 2005, they began making their own media and continue to document important events inside their own community.
Yascita is an NGO established in 1998 that started the first community based Radio (Swara Alam Radio – 1999) and TV (Kendari TV – 2003) in Southeast Sulawesi. Based in the capital Kendari, both media outlets broadcast everyday to fulfill their mission of developing independent mass media and community media with a goal of widely providing information access for the society in the Province they serve.
From Kalimantan (previously known as Indonesian Borneo)
Canopy Indonesia is an organization of 10 members based in Pontianak (West Kalimantan) that uses visual media as a tool for environmental and cultural preservation as well as education. They conduct screenings of documentary films, carry out trainings and workshops for “newcomer” documentary filmmaker as well as connect more established television producers with content while also developing their own productions.
PADI is a non-governmental organization based in Balikpapan focusing on social issues regarding ecology, ethnic groups, and economics. It has 7 members who use video and photography as part of advocacy programs in its East Pontianak community capturing the social condition of Dayak people and the impact of illegal logging and deforestation as well as gold, nickel, and coal mining.
Appalshop’s partner organization for the Exchange is Boemboe, founded in Jakarta during 2003 as a meeting point for those concerned with the development of Indonesian short film and to further independent media networking within and outside Indonesia.

Harvard Film Study Center (FSC) Fellow 2008-09

“KAPSIS”

A Collaborative project of

EDGAR BARROSO / JUAN DE DIOS VAZQUEZ
A collaboration between a composer, a poet, a filmmaker, and a designer,Kapsis will be a 7 to 10 minute piece for flute, electro-acoustic music, and video art. It will portray the mesmerizing Nahua myth of a young girl who becomes a starfish.  Within the Florentine Codex there is a Nahuatl proverb which states the possibility that that which occurred before in the past, will once again repeat itself in the future.  In the same way, in the current project of writing and composing a Nahua operetta, the new converges with the old. The goal is to represent the unrepresented, to provide though structured musical figuration an understanding of invisible forces and principles that regulated not only the myths, riddles and proverbs of ancient Aztecs but also the pulse of contemporary indigenous politics. Zazanilli (which in Nahuatl means both “story” and “enigma”) is meant to be an oeuvre that will celebrate the bicentennial of Mexican independence, while bringing into question the so-called achievements of this significant event. 

Support by The Film Study Center at Harvard University

Artist-in-Residence at Appalshop, KY, USA

I am doing artist-in-residence at Appalshop Media Center, Kentucky for two weeks. They also paid the around trip tickets for my family (Reno and Bhisma). We are enjoying our Summer vacation with a great project!

Subject: Hope you can help!

From: “Anita Schillhorn” <anitasvv@gmail.com>
Date: May 2, 2008 5:05:02 PM EDT
To: anitasvv@gmail.com
Subject: Hope you can help!

Dear friends and family:

I am writing to you with an SOS!

Our film VESSEL is so close to being possible, but we just found out that our fundraising window has become significantly smaller.  We urgently need your help!

Vessel is a documentary film in production about a Dutch doctor, Rebecca Gomperts, who sails through loopholes in maritime law, risking her life to provide medical abortions on the high seas to women of countries where abortion is illegal.

And Rebecca has invited us to film her riskiest trip yet, to South America – next month!

Support for Vessel thus far has been overwhelming, and great thanks to those of you who have already donated.

But we are still short on the funds we need by our deadline of May 15.

If this project resonates with you, please consider investing or making a tax-deductible donation.

You can donate:
online at http://vesselthefilm.com/Vessel/Contribute.html
by a check made out to our fiscal sponsor
Off the Leesh Productions
177 Bedford
Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(earmarked Vessel)

If you’d like to learn more about investment opportunities, please contact me for more info.

And pass this plea on to anyone you know that might be interested in contributing to this cause!

To find out more, please visit our trailer at: http://vesselthefilm.com

Your gift will help bring this story of activism and courage to fruition.  Thank you!

Best,

Vision Du Reel – International Competition

Vision Du Reel

The Festival

Originating in the trend for ciné-clubs, the Festival first came into being in 1969. At the end of the seventies, it reached its first stage of maturity. It was in Nyon that it became possible to discover the films produced in the countries of the Eastern bloc, as well as those from other parts of the world, without forgetting Swiss productions which have always been outstanding for their subject matter and aesthetic qualities. It was also in Nyon that the various struggles for independence found an echo : ranging from the Third World countries to the emancipation of women and even taking in sexual liberation.

Visions du Réel

The evolution of the Festival continued in 1995, when a new management was appointed. Renamed from then on « Visions du Réel », the event very quickly made a name for itself as one of the most important rendez-vous of this speciality cinema, both in Switzerland and on the international scene.

Visions du Réel

Alongside a programme planning which encourages meetings and dialogue between every form of cinema du réel (experimental films, essays, diaries, family films, major reports, historical inquiries, epic or fragmentary stories), events such as Etats des Lieux and their Workshops which welcome the illustrious names of cinema (Johan van der Keuken, Robert Kramer, Alexandre Sokourov, Robert Frank, Raymond Depardon or Frederick Wiseman) have become musts. As for Séances spéciales, or Special Sessions, these shed new enlightenment on a group of coherent films (“Corpus Chisti” and Arte, Les Hommes-livres et Memoriav, Steps for the Future and Atelier 02, etc.).

Doc Outlook – International Market

Finally, it should be noted that although Visions du Réel has as its principal ambition to show the best of films being currently produced to the largest possible public, the Festival also invites professionals to promote the films. These include sales agents, commissioning editors and programme buyers, distributors, independent producers and directors, who are invited to exchange information, points of view and projects during special brunches where they can meet interesting and important people and enjoy informal discussions. In addition, every year, Market Screenings places some two hundred carefully selected films at the disposal of broadcasters.

“Lukas’ Moment” @ Yale Conference

http://www.yale.edu/seas/IndonesiaArts.htm#Doc

YALE INDONESIA FORUM WORKSHOP 2008

The past can be memorialized in any of a wide variety of ways. Monuments, archival records, and political rhetoric all carry forward memories and narratives of what has gone before. In Indonesia, though, history is preserved by very different means, and the popular narrative of events is often found in arts and media.

As important as the arts are for discovering the past, though, the past is also important for the creation of art. Memories and historical events constitute an important topic for literature, music, dance, film, and other art in the archipelago. Often art is inspired by a desire to promote or preserve a narrative of struggle or success.

The Yale Indonesia Forum Workshop 2008 wants to look at the reciprocal relationship of narrative, memory and history with arts and culture in Indonesia. It aims to address, yet hopes not be strictly limited to, some of the following questions: What is the relationship between contemporary art forms and regional or national identity in Indonesia? What are the continuing influences of religion and nationalism on the arts? What are the creative and dynamic interactions between ‘traditional’ art forms and more contemporary? What are the evolving relationships between Indonesian art form and Western modernism? What have been the effects of an increasing commoditization of and international interest in the Indonesian art world? What is the role of art criticism within the Indonesian media on shaping the arts there, and what are the roles of external influences? How do local discourses about the arts differ from global or academic discourse? How has state sponsorship for the arts changed in the reformasi era, and how have artists responded?

Bringing together three pairs of a senior and a junior scholar, the conference organizers hope to achieve a balance between academic research that addresses these questions, by Indonesians and others, as well as bring in people actively and creatively engaged in contemporary Indonesian arts, media and culture.

Human Rights Award in 9th JiFFest 2007

From: “Varadila”
Date: December 4, 2007 4:24:02 AM EST
To: “Aryo Danusiri @ GMAIL”
Cc: “Lalu Roisamri”
Subject: Human Rights Award in 9th JiFFest 2007

Dear Aryo Danusiri,

Again for this year, Jakarta International Film Festival cooperate with Movies That Matter Foundation for the film in the Human Rights Section. Best Human Rights Film with human right issue in line-up of 9th JiFFest 2007 will be awarded the Movies That Matter Human Rights Award of Euro 5,000. The Prize is to be used for the distribution of the film in Indonesia. The prize is presented by Movies That Matter Foundation.

We are glad to announce that Playing Between Elephants has been nominated for this award. Therefore, you will be contacted by Movies that Matter Foundation to send your preview copy for their archival copies. We wish you good luck and success for the upcoming award.

Best wishes,
Lalu Roisamri,
Program Director

9th Jakarta International Film Festival (7-16 December 2007)
Jl. Sutan Syahrir I C Blok 3-4
Jakarta 10350
Indonesia
P: +62 (0) 21 3192 5115
F: +62 (0) 21 3192 5360
www.jiffest.org

Indonesian Release “Playing Between Elephants”

KINEFORUM

Kineforum Studio 1 Studio 21 TIM, Jl Cikini Raya 73, Jakarta Pusat 10330. Tel. 021-3162780 (Anita) email: kineforumdkj@ yahoo.co.id  website: www.dkj.or.id

Lihat jadwal bulanan dan program pemutaran kineforum di blog: http://kineforum.wordpress.com/
For kineforum monthly schedule and programs please visit our blog: http://kineforum.wordpress.com/

Di akhir bulan, kami bersama Ragam akan meluncurkan Bermain di Antara Gajah-gajah, dokumenter terbaru dari sutradara Aryo Danusiri. Aryo hanya mengajukan satu masalah dalam ‘membangun rumah’, apakah ini masalah kerja konstruksi atau masalah membangun kembali sebuah peradaban? Dia menjawabnya lewat persoalan-persoalan keseharian yang dihadapi seorang kepala kampung dan para pekerja bantuan internasional di Aceh.

In the end of this month, with Ragam, we are going to launch “Playing Between Elephants”, a new documentary from Aryo Danusiri. Aryo just wonders about “building a house”, is this about construction work problem or about construct again a civilitazion? He answered it with daily problems that’s faced by a village chief and the international aid-workers in Aceh.

Minggu, 28 Oktober 2007
14.15 : Playing Between Elephants
17.30 : Playing Between Elephants
19.30 : Playing Between Elephants

Senin, 29 Oktober 2007
14.15 : Playing Between Elephants
17.30 : Playing Between Elephants
19.30 : Playing Between Elephants

Selasa, 30 Oktober 2007

14.15 : Playing Between Elephants
17.30 : Playing Between Elephants
19.30 : Playing Between Elephants

Rabu, 31 Oktober 2007

14.15 : Playing Between Elephants
17.30 : Playing Between Elephants
19.30 : Playing Between Elephants

World Documentary

Bermain Diantara Gajah-Gajah / Playing Between Elephants (2007), dokumenter, 89 mnt, (Bahasa Indonesia, Aceh, Inggris dengan subtitel Bahasa Inggris). Sutradara: Aryo Danusiri
(Indonesian Premiere)
Dalam pepatah Indonesia, dikatakan ketika gajah-gajah bertempur, selalu pelanduk di tengah-nya jadi korban. Tapi dalam film ini, sang pelanduk tidaklah mati, justru ia berhasil bermain diantaranya dan meraih tujuannya. Film ini merupakan sebuah catatan dari situasi post-tsunami dan Aceh pasca konflik, dimana seorang kepala kampung di Aceh memimpin masyarakatnya melalui naik turun proses rekonstruksi and rehabilitasi yang terjadi; bagaimana orang Aceh belajar untuk dapat menghadapi gesekan dunia global dan lokal.
World Premiere
IN COMPETITION “New Asian Currents”
10th Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, October 2007

Bermain Diantara Gajah-Gajah / Playing Between Elephants (2007), documentary, 89 mnt, (Indonesian, Acehnese, English with English Subtitle). Director : Aryo Danusiri. (Indonesian Premiere)
There is an Indonesian saying that when the elephants are locked in a fight, the mousedeer would die in the middle. But in this film, the mousedeer does not die – instead, it manages to play between them and get what it wants. This film documents a post-tsunami and post-conflict Aceh, where an Acehnese village chief leads his people through the ups and downs of the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation process, and how the Acehnese people learn to deal with the friction between the global and local realms.
World Premiere
IN COMPETITION “New Asian Currents”
10th Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, October 2007

The synopsis of “Playing between Elephants” by Yamagata Festival

“A year has passed since the tsunami in the village of Geunting Timur in Aceh, and the UN-HABITAT plan to rebuild homes is finally underway. However, this also signals the beginnings of the village heads days of strife as he attempts to take control of the situation. In addition to managing the building-material and construction situation as well as aid money and supplies, he scrambles to deal with various village dramas such as accidents and massive fires. While he strives to keep the project moving, the local elders, villagers, construction workers, and UN staff act and speak as they will. One day, he finally vents his frustration at a village gathering. As he looks up to the sky, holding a bolt that fell from the bridge, making it sway every time a truck full of resources passes through, we wonder what will become of the village head and his village…”