Sent on by Judy AIAA Best wishes > Variety >December 6, 1999 - December 12, 1999 > >'Poetry' unveils truth > >By TONY RYANTO > > HIGHLIGHT: Pic enjoys unprecendented media freedoms > > JAKARTA --- For his fifth and latest film, "Concealed Poetry," Indonesian >director-writer Garin Nugroho could not have chosen a more daring subject: the >violent suppression of a communist-led uprising in the province of Aceh more >than 30 years ago. > > Nugroho shot the 90-minute black-and-white feature in just six days in >September, before the presidential elections. > > He acknowledges he doubts whether the film would ever be released in > Indonesia had B.J. Habibie been re-elected president (Habibie withdrew from >the race) because it is highly critical of the army's role. > > For sure, "Concealed Poetry" could never have been made during the 32 years >of the Suharto administration. > > One of the few directors who is relishing the post-Suharto era of freedom >of >expression, Nugroho, 37, describes "Poetry" as one man's testimony to the >thousands of people who were slaughtered in Aceh in 1965. > > The film's central character is Central Aceh poet Ibrahim Kadir, who was >arrested and jailed for 22 days without trial on suspicion of being a >communist. >The government later admitted this was a mistake. In jail he witnessed angry >and >terrified men who were awaiting execution. > > Aceh still is experiencing civil strife amid cries for independence and >criticism that the central government is getting rich from the region's >natural >resources. So Nugroho decided to bring Kadir and his family to Jakarta for the >shoot. > > "I firmly believe that a lot of Indonesians and foreigners would like to >see >the film because it shows a different side of history, one that has been kept >in >the dark for more than three decades," Nugroho tells Variety. > > He shot the pic on digital Betacam and will transfer it to film either in >the >U.S. or Oz. > > A former film critic, Nugroho tried his hand at docus and short films >before >graduating to features with "Love is a Slice of Bread" (1991), which was >fairly >successful at the local B.O. His second, "Letter to an Angel" (1994) won first >prize in the Young Competition section of the Tokyo International Film >Festival. > > "And the Moon Dances..." (1996), was selected for official competition in >the >Tokyo fest. His fourth pic, "Leaf on a Pillow," turned out to be a sleeper >here. > > Nugroho admitted he's had a difficult time making films during Suharto's >reign because there were a lot of restrictions imposed on filmmakers. > > "Three times I almost gave up the profession but I didn't because my family >and friends were always supportive," he says. "Most of the time we somehow >managed to make both ends meet." > > As with his previous efforts, Nugroho has no distributor lined up for >"Poetry," which he plans to release next February. > > >INDONESIA AT A GLANCE >: > Population: 210 million > > TV household penetration: 77% > > TV advertising revenues (1998):$ 328 million > > Free-to-air networks: 6 > > Cable/satellite subscribers: 75,000 > > Number of screens: 800 (427 firstrun) > > Local film production: approx. 30 per year
