A year after its maiden full-length film, SOEGIJA, premiered to widespread acclaim in Indonesia. Puskat Pictures is busy with its second film, “Di Tepian Sungai Elo” (At the edge of the River Elo). The new film is about the boarding school run by Franciscan nuns in Mendut, Magelang, Indonesia from 1908 to 1943, and the impact of its alumnae, many of who become prominent figures and played important roles in the Church and nation.
“People have forgotten them, so we want to invite the people to learn their own history, as we did with SOEGIJA,” said Fr Y Iswarahadi SJ, director of Studio Audio Visual Puskat (also known as Puskat Pictures).
He hopes the new film will encourage a spirit of national identity and greater inter-religious understanding among the people of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. He also wants to highlight the importance of education and the role of women in Indonesian society.
Fr Iswarahadi says that they already have a script. Now they need to raise enough money to produce the film, which will be directed by Fr Murti Hadi Wijayanto SJ, who wrote the script.
Puskat Pictures was invited by more than 40 international film festivals to submit SOEGIJA, which is based on the life of Jesuit Monsignor Albertus Magnus Soegijapranata, the first local Catholic bishop in Indonesia. However, they were only able to participate in about 10 including the international film festivals of Busan, Tokyo, Melbourne, Hanoi and Rotterdam. SOEGIJA has garnered several nominations and awards at local and international film festivals, most notably first prize in the Feature Films category of the 28th International Catholic Film and Multimedia Festival Niepokalanow 2013 in Poland “for showing a difficult period in the rebuilding of their Catholic community, absolutely annihilated by gangs of evil”.
While the awards are gratifying, Fr Iswarahardi’s main concern was to ensure that SOEGIJA reached the people, to foster nation building and inter-religious dialogue. Peace building and inter-religious dialogue are some of the main concerns of the Jesuit Province of Indonesia.
SOEGIJA was screened at 100 cinemas across Indonesia, and thousands of people received subsidized or free tickets. Puskat also took SOEGIJA on the road, arranging free screenings in many remote provinces where there is no cinema. In Klaten in central Java, for example, the screening allowed the hundreds of villages who had appeared in the film as refugees to see themselves in the completed film. Puskat brought all the equipment and some of the cast or the producer for the discussions that were held after the screenings.
“We brought SOEGIJA to the people in remote areas to promote the spirit of Soegijapranata and the spirit of nationalism to the people. Also, the people of the Archdiocese of Semarang and Jakarta helped us a lot with financial support for the film, so it is only right that we show concern in turn for others who cannot see SOEGIJA because there is no cinema or they have no money to buy the ticket,” said Fr Iswarahadi.
SOEGIJA cost almost US$1.3 million to produce and SAV Puskat received close to US$1 million in donations largely through parishes and charity dinners in the two Archdioceses.
SOEGIJA was also screened in some Protestant churches in Yogyakarta and at Bunda Mulia University in Jakarta for 2,000 high school students, followed by a discussion with the director and lead actor. The Islamic University of Yogyakarta also screened the film for some 500 students.
By October 30, 2012 the film had reached a total audience of about half a million Indonesians.
Fr General Adolfo Nicolas SJ has commended Fr Iswarahadi on the film, saying in a letter, “The production of such a film is certainly a major undertaking. I am happy to read that it brought together so many people from so many different backgrounds and religions. Such a co-operative effort can only enhance the understanding between people, and their appreciation of each other. The message of the film is very pertinent. In his life and person, Bishop Soegijapranata SJ made it very clear that he could be both a committed Catholic Christian and a committed Indonesian patriot. That message still rings true for all Indonesians today, and would be an encouragement for many. … It is especially gratifying to hear that the film is being taken to the country areas of Indonesia.”
Fr Iswarahadi also received a message from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, sent through his assessor saying that the film would help with the renewal of the Church in Indonesia.
For more information about SAV Puskat, visit www.savpuskat.or.id.
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