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| Eight LGBT filmmakers tell their stories with a movie camera in ‘Children of Srikandi.’ (Photo courtesy of Srikandi Films) |
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Two years
ago, eight young Indonesian women came together for a project. Although at
first it seemed small, the endeavor would end up having a bigger impact on
their lives than they ever imagined.
Now, their
hard work has resulted in a 75-minute feature-length film, “Children of
Srikandi.” The film’s tagline is: “For the first time, queer Indonesian women
are breaking the code of silence.”
In a
country where a declaration of homosexuality at best raises eyebrows and at
worst incites blind hatred and prejudice, “Srikandi” is a brave movie that
sheds light on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community
here.
It is
especially unique because the filmmakers themselves are part of that community
and were able to honestly convey their own experiences, feelings and thoughts
on the screen.
Stea Lim,
who is both a director and executive producer of the film, said the project was
initiated by Laura Coppens, a German visual anthropologist who wanted to make a
film about the struggles of Indonesian women. The project was realized with the
help of the Goethe-Institut, the German cultural organization, and In-Docs, the
documentary program of the Society of Independent Indonesian Films (YMMFI).
Coppens
said she began traveling to the region and Indonesia on a regular basis about
five years ago.
“This was
basically because I am an Indonesian film curator and festival programmer for
Asian Hot Shots Berlin, a festival for Asian independent cinema I founded with
two friends in 2007 in Berlin,” she said.
After
becoming more involved with the regional cinema scene, Coppens realized there
was a general lack of films about homosexual women, and there certainly weren’t
any examples from Indonesia.
“From the
very beginning, I wanted to organize a workshop to train people in basic
filmmaking skills,” she said. “Since I am not a trained filmmaker and I knew
that I never would manage this challenge alone, I was looking for someone to
help me with that and eventually make a film out of it.”
She found
support from Berlin-based filmmaker Angelika Levi, who became a mentor and
editor for the film. Together, the two have seen the project through from
beginning to end.
“She is an
experienced filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller. It is mainly also because of
her involvement and engagement that our film is as successful and beautiful as
it is now,” Coppens said of Levi.
“And of
course, there are the wonderful women we are working with,” she added,
referring to the eight workshop participants and stressing that they see
themselves as a collective. “Their desire to tell their story and their bravery
makes it a very special project.”
The
diversity of the group members was key, Stea said.
“Each of us
has different backgrounds,” she said. “So everybody brought different ideas to
the workshop, and it eventually took the shape of becoming an anthology. It is
now a collection of eight short films — part documentary, part fiction.”
Eight
women, eight films. But the participants did more than simply work on their own
stories. They acted in one another’s films, helped with narrative development
and served as crew members.
The
namesake of the film’s title, Srikandi, is a character in the Mahabharata epic.
“Srikandi is a strong female warrior,” Stea explained. “She represents what we
are doing now, our struggles, our expectations, our roles in society.”
Coppens
said Srikandi was a fascinating character because while most women characters
in wayang tales were devoted mothers and wives, Srikandi was “the ultimate
model of independent womanhood.”
Srikandi
not only makes an appearance in the title of the film, she also plays an active
part in it: her story is told between the eight short films through Indonesian
shadow theater scenes performed by puppeteer Soleh and singer Anik, two
male-to-female transgender individuals from Surabaya.
For the
women involved in the project, making “Srikandi” was a unique experience. Many
of them had never done anything like try to make a movie.
One of the
women is Edith, a political science student in Yogyakarta. She said she enjoyed
being part of the project.
“It was
very exciting for me to learn how to make the storyboard, to think about the
visuals, the images and the sounds, and how it all needs to be connected,” she
said, adding that she could even imagine continuing with filmmaking in the
future.
“My film
shows my own experience and how I deal with my identity,” Edith said. “I
believe that everybody has multiple identities and I especially tried to show
the connection between your sexual identity and your spiritual identity. Very
often [in Indonesia] people say, ‘Oh, you are not eligible to talk about your
faith when you have a certain sexual identity.’ ”
Another
woman involved in the project, Winnie, looks at relationships and some of the
typical prejudices she sees in society.
“People
always think that if you are part of the LGBT community you have to hang out
with other members of that community as well,” she said. “But why can’t we live
like what they would call ‘normal people?’ ”
The
filmmakers are well aware that “Srikandi” might draw criticism, but so far, the
feedback has been positive.
“A lot of
people that we talked to about this project have been very supportive,” Stea
said. “We did this film with very limited funding. All the funding has come
from different organizations, our families and friends, and our own pockets.”
Friends who
couldn’t afford to support the project with cash found other ways to help,
donating time and energy to do things like assist with the lights or
participate on the camera team, she added.
“Without
them, I don’t think we could have finished the film,” she said. “We had to
overcome a lot of struggles, but we
always met
a lot of people who would tell us, come on, you have to do this.”
While the
film’s final cut has been completed, there is still post-production work to be
done, primarily with sound and color. The group is still looking for funding to
finance this final part of the project.
“Crowd-sourcing
is one of the more creative ways to find funding for independent films,”
Coppens said. “It is very successful in the United States, but rather new in
Germany. We thought we’d give it a try and raise some funds that could cover
our post-production costs. So far it has been very successful — out of the
$5,000 we asked for, we already raised $4,000. The campaign ends in 14 days and
we really hope that people will help us to meet our goal.”
The group’s
main motivation for completing “Srikandi” is to provide a platform for people
to discuss a topic that is often deliberately overlooked.
“There has
been discussion put on by organizations and activists, but a film takes it to a
whole new audience,” Stea said. “Instead of simply talking about experiences,
you can now see it: our issues with religion, society, our families. Hopefully,
it can spark some dialogue.”
It is
undeniable that the film has already made an impact. In Germany it was selected
as an official entry for the Panorama program at the Berlinale, Berlin’s
international film festival, which will take place from Feb. 9 to 19.
“From the
beginning, it was our dream to show this film at a major film festival,”
Coppens said. “This kind of festival means major outreach and helps people to
see the stories.”
In addition
to “Srikandi,” the Berlin festival will showcase two other feature films from
Indonesia: “Postcards From the Zoo” by Edwin and “The Mirror Never Lies” by
Kamila Andini, as well as the short film “7 Deadly Kisses” by Sammaria
Simanjuntak.
“This is an
enormous success for Indonesian cinema and hopefully it will give a boost to
the local film scene and encourage filmmakers and young ones especially to
continue their wonderful work,” Coppens said. “There is a lot of talent out
there that is ready to be discovered and I hope the Berlinale is a first step
that will encourage more people to look at the Indonesian film industry closely
and with a new curiosity.”
The eight
“Srikandi” women welcomed the news about the Berlinale with much excitement and
joy.
“We are
obviously ecstatic about it,” Stea said, adding that it was also quite
overwhelming.
“By doing
this film, we opened up and talked about our issues, and what was personal will
now become public. But I hope it can make a difference.”
For more
information about ‘Children of Srikandi,’ visit www.childrenofsrikandi.com
To be part
of the crowd-funding campaign, visit www.indiegogo.com/Children-of-Srikandi
About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “ ... You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.The only identity that has any fundamental or lasting relevance to your Soul is your Divinity. Any other way you may label or identify yourself is transitory. It changes from one incarnation to the next. ..."
"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)
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