Fund bridges RI, Germany young filmmakers

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The German-based World Cinema Fund builds a bridge to connect young Indonesian filmmakers and producers with Germany's young film producers.

This year the fund -- launched by the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004 -- has started to expand its reach to local film projects in South East and South Asia regions, from the previously Latin America, Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia regions.

"We are trying to give ... access into the global film markets to many productions, which probably would not have this opportunity without the support of international organization," the World Cinema Fund Project Manager, Vincenzo Bugno, told a presentation forum on Saturday, at the Goethe-Institute, one of the 2007 Jakarta International Film Festival venues Central Jakarta.

"South East Asia is such a big region with so many (film making) talents," Vincenzo said.

Head of the film division of the Goethe Institute, sponsoring the World Cinema, Detlef Gericke Sch”nhagen said when he arrived in Jakarta in 1998 there were between two and four films produced in a year.

"Now, there are 40 films produced in a year. So, you can see in your own production what does happen, in this country and region."

In the past three years, the World Cinema has supported 33 local film productions, from more than 700 applications submitted from developing countries in the regions.

The World Cinema opens submission twice a year.

Vincenzo said, "We work only with scripts, because we think only scripts make it possible to understand the soul of the project".

He said he tries to get in touch with both the local producer and director to get better understanding on the project.

There are two most important elements that the scripts must have, Vincenzo said: a deep link with the cultural identity of a particular region or country, and high artistic values or visual profile.

"We are interested in a story that represents the cultural reality of a country or a region.

"It's a really big challenge because ... we want to develop local content for the international market.

"So everybody should develop a project with real authenticity.

"The more local the project is, the more chance (there is) for it to get an international audience," Vincenzo said.

Gericke said there was one common thing all films supported by the World Cinema had: "All of these films are deeply rooted in their local situation".

"All of them also express something universal beyond that local situation," he said.

"So, it's a mixture of quality, regionality and universality."

Gericke said, "The funding brings (the) benefit of cultural relation and co-operation".

"Behind every World Cinema film there has to be a German co-producer."

The World Cinema will help local film producers to find a co-producer in Germany.

Vincenzo said, "In a way, the World Cinema is like the link between the German industry and film industry abroad".

The World Cinema provides a maximum funding of 100,000 Euro per film, which is normally not more than half of the total production cost.

This year, a young Indonesian director, who graduated from the Jakarta Institute of Arts in 1990, became one of the four fund recipients after competing against 108 applicants.

Ravi Bharwani, 42, the first Indonesian director to receive 55,000 euro from the World Cinema, will direct Jermal, a story about a 12 year-old boy, Jaya, who after his mother's death is sent to his father in Jermal, a fishing platform off the seashore.

The father, who once killed a man whom his wife had an affair with, cannot accept Jaya as his child.

Ravi, who will begin the production of Jermal in February 2008, said, "The process of accepting others and being accepted by others is the key point of this film".

Ravi's 2004 feature film The Rainmaker was screened at film festivals, like Rotterdam, Shanghai, Barcelona and Busan.

The script of the Jermal film project, which was co-produced by Shanty Harmayn and Orlow Seunke, was also one of the winners of the Open Doors section at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival.

Orlow points out the advantage of the World Cinema funding-scheme from many other European funding programs that required the recipient to spend the budget in European countries.

"100 percent of this fund (World Cinema) minus the 7.5 percent handling fee for German co-producer can be and should be spent in Indonesia.

"So it's a perfect fund."

The World Cinema supports both feature films and documentaries. Vincenzo said, "We strongly believe in documentaries ... (they should) have a more and more theatrical release, not only in Europe."

The 2007 JiFFest is screening eight films supported by the World Cinema, including Acts of Men, A Perfect Day, The Other and Rome Rather Than You.