Stay Tune for the Next Movie Screening

If you are being asked to choose which one will you prefer, watching movie in the cinema with popcorn on your right hand and soda on your left or watching movie in a coffee shop while sipping a good taste of coffee? For me, I would prefer the second one.

That adds one more reason why for the past few months I have been busy organizing some movie screenings.

Another reason is because I basically like to organize social events. Organizing national and international events was part of my job-list at my previous working place. Even until now, I sometimes organize events in smaller yet intense scope. Thus, I am pretty much happy to throw myself into this.

So for the past few months, there were two movies that I made on a coffee shop's screen:

1. Prison and Paradise (28 April 2013)

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/169280126561317

Timing: I intentionally did the screening on Sunday morning since the content of the movie is heavy (for sure I did not want to see somebody is sleeping during the screening).

The director of this movie, Daniel Rudy Haryanto (I call him Mas Rudy), just happened to work as a video maker in my current working place. One day, during a light conversation with him, I figured out that he actually has a very good movie that won several international awards. So I thought why dun we have a screening of that movie. The movie which I later on known titled Prison and Paradise is actually a deeply educative one. It challenges the viewers to think critically about terrorism discourse in Indonesia. Yet the movie is being banned by the government, probably because some of the contents, especially the part in which Mas Rudy interviewing the executors of the Bali bombing, are considered vulgar.

For the movie screening, I successfully invited Mbak Angel Damayanti, a lecturer from Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI), as a reviewer to discuss the content of the movie. Mbak Angel also brought around 10 of her university students to watch the movie.

I could see that there were some people who curiously thrown questions to Mbak Angel and Mas Rudy during the discussion. It made me happy to see that people could actually broaden their knowledge by attending the event that I organized.

About Prison and Paradise movie:

On 12 October 2002 Bali island was bombed by a group of Indonesian suicide bombers. The incident took 202 lives, mostly foreigners and of course, Indonesians too. Since that, Indonesia experienced a number of religiously motivated bombings targeting international and national asset and embassies. In 2003, Daniel Rudy Haryanto had the opportunity to interview first Bali bombers. They are: Imam Samudra, Ali Gufron a.k.a Muklas, Amrozy and Ali Imron. He also met Mubarok a.k.a Fadlullah Hasan a.k.a Utomo Pamungkas in Kerobokan prison, Bali. In 2004, He was introduced to Noor Huda Ismail, a journalist at the Washington Post and an alumni of Al Mukmin Ngruki Islamic Boarding School (pesantren) on his duty covering the Bali bombing incident.

This documentary portrays some interesting stories both from perpetrators’ families as well as victims’ families. They believe in the same religion, that’s Islam, they believe in the same Holy Quran, they pray with same manner and ways, but in Jihad, they do have different opinions.

Indonesia has been an important site for terrorism and terrorism debate. The film “Prison and Paradise” would like to portray this issue closely.


Awards:

- Yamagata Documentary Film Festival winner 2011
- Bgyor International Film Festival 2011
- Dubai International Film Festival World Premiere And Competition 2010
- Jogjakarta Asian Film Festival (NETPAC) 2010
- Jogjakarta Documentary Film Festival (FFD) winner 2010


Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGzV7QD9ULg
Official Website: www.prisonandparadise.com/

Mas Rudy and Mbak Angel were talking on the stage.

I gave a brief introduction (this is not a good pic, but this is the only pic of me in this event).

2. Grease (16 June 2013)

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/500244140029940/

Timing: Sunday night was a perfect timing for this classic musical drama movie. Why? Simply because on Friday and Saturday night people are busy partying around.

The story behind conducting the screening of this movie is as follow. One day I attended yet another social event organized by my friend who is a real globe trotter. His name is Fritz. So while sitting on the bench, Fritz (out of the blue) asked me why am I named Olivia. Just like me or probably the rest of you, he thinks that the name is too Western. So I said to him that I was named after Olivia Newton John, my Dad is a big fan of her. Then he goes "Have u watched Grease*?". Then I goes "'No." Then he screamed (I think it is just his tone, he is a loud person anyway) "I'll be bold! We need to watch it together!”. And I was "Hmmm... ok."

So that was the beginning of me having the idea to do the screening of Grease. Later on I had another thought, why don’t we make the movie linked to support my current project Yep Camp (the project aims to reduce the number of youth unemployment in some rural areas of Indonesia). And I am glad that we finally did it. Frankly, it was the first time I got a chance to introduce Yep Camp in public. And I even felt happier knowing that Yep Camp received many positive responses from public after the screening.

Another thing which I liked the most from the Grease movie screening was Fritz idea to have some 60-70-ish songs and old trailers played before showing the main movie. I have to admit, such a brilliant idea.

Here is a bit about Grease:

A musical about teens in love in the 50's! It's California, summer 1959 and greaser Danny Zuko and Australian Sandy Olsson are in love. They spend time at the beach, but when they go back to school, what either of them don't know is that they both now attend Rydell High. Danny's the leader of the T-Birds, a group of black-jacket greasers while Sandy hangs with the Pink Ladies, a group of pink-wearing girls led by Rizzo. When they clash at Rydell's first pep rally, Danny isn't the same Danny at the beach.

The Screen showing Olivia Newton John a.k.a Sandy

I was giving an opening and an introduction of Yepcamp

In the near future, me and my Yep Camp team will organize another movie screening which aims to get more support for our project (a.k.a crowd funding). The next movie will be held in September and the topic will be more into the environmental issues (I promise you that it won’t be the boring one, it will be a drama not scientific movie).

We are planning to have it screened in a café around Cikini or Sabang. The donation will be based on voluntary. Stay tune, I’ll keep you update soon!



Love,


Olivia


Note: * Grease was one of  the most popular movies of Olivia Newton John

Review for The Act of Killing Movie Screening

A few weeks ago, I went for a screening of the movie "The Act of Killing" in Jakarta. 

Here I quote the short explanation of the movie from IMD,  for your further information.

A documentary that challenges former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.

It was a really mind enlightening discussion we had after the screening as we had the director, Joshua Oppenheimer (a Harvard graduate =) ) and Arief Zulkifli,the executive director of the famous TEMPO magazine (recently won  Liz O’Neill award for his investigation journalism activity).

I took some pictures during the discussing as I was so mesmerized by Joshua who can speak Bahasa fluently!

Plus I got a short video (sorry for the noise, I always do it, listening and talking at the same time).

Overall, the movie challenges you to see how "G-30 S PKI movie" has been used widely as a propaganda tool to counter different idealism. More than that, the movie pursues you to think critically such as "things that we think is right today, might be invalid in the future because the world is dynamic, as well as the society".

Anyway, me and my friends (who organized TAoK screening last time) will organize another screening for the documentary movie "Prison and Paradise". The movie will challenge you to see the terrorism discourse in Indonesia from the different angle. Check more info here:
 https://www.facebook.com/events/169280126561317

See u on the screening!


Love,

Olivia

About My Sister's Keeper

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"They look happy outside, but actually they are fragile inside"

I’ll sleep late tonight. Just finish watching “My Sister’s Keeper”. It was a very sad movie. Actually I am a person who is not easily cry for any kind of movie. But I admit that this movie is really sad. I was crying all along the time played.  I knew this movie before and I also know about the book. My bro have it. But I haven’t got a chance to read it. And when the movie launched for the first time, I was still in Melbi and didn’t have companion who has the same taste wid me. So last nite, one of room’s neighbor come to my room and unexpectedly I found this movie in his hard disk!  Lucky!

A Short Synopsis (taken from Jodi Picoult or the novel writer official website)

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

I feel sad after I watch that movie.  At the time like this I want to talk to somebody who is close to me.  Sometimes I talk to Mom. But this time I wanna talk to my bf. But I know he must be sleeping at this time coz there’s a different zone of time for like 3 hours.  Perhaps he is just snoring at this moment. So I will just talk to him tomorrow morning as he promised me to do Skype next morning.

However, I suddenly remember when I was still in Melbourne, I often call him whenever I got night mare and just feeling lonely. I never have a bf before him.  But now I know how it feels.  It feels so good knowing that somebody out there cares of you. I know that people need a couple because they can’t life alone. Perhaps it is right that two is better than one.

I love u! =)

P.s. Anyway in this movie, they talk a lot about Montana, the place where I will go this July. And they also took some scene there. That’s an awesome picture though! I’m sure I’ll take a lot of pic there in Montana soon.   

(500) days of Summer

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(500) days of Summer is the 2^nd movie which I watched together with him. We were having fight the day before. But on the next day he begged me not to escape, but  pleased me to watch movie with him as he  had choose the movie. So then we went together to Chadstone’s theater called Village movie or something. (500) days of Summer is the title of that movie, a funny yet romantic one. I hold his arms during the movie screened.  He was doing nothing to me, just sometimes  ‘coz he knew that I’ll get angry if he touches me. I miss that moment with you. I miss it, damn much!

About (500) days of Summer: This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie 'The Graduate'. The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parent's marriage she'd only love two things. The first was her long dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing. Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.

There is love in his eyes

Tom: I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love it when she sleeps.

Tom: What happens when you fall in love?
Summer: You believe in that?
Tom: It's love, it's not Santa Claus.

Tom: You don't want to be named as anybody's girlfriend, and now you're someone's wife?

Tom: [Montage of Summer] I hate her crooked teeth. I hate her 1960s haircut. I hate her knobby knees. I hate her cockroach-shaped splotch on her neck. I hate the way she smacks her lips before she talks. I hate the way she sounds when she laughs.

Ronak: I think his story is a bit similar with me.

Olivia: Really? (Speaking for her own heart)

I can see how deep Tom's love toward Summer.

Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists until Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fell in love with her.

But after I contemplate for a while here, It’s me now who think that her story is somehow so similar with me. I love you! =)

Hotel Rwanda

Dari awal aku telah merencanakan untuk mengisi kekosongan liburan dengan menonton lusinan DVD yang aku pinjam dari kerabat-kerabat tersayang. Namun karena masih senang melancong di Medan akhirnya DVD-DVD tersebut (jangan tanya original atau bajakan) aku abaikan saja untuk sementara waktu. Nah, karena belakangan ini aku udah kecapaian berpergian dan cukup muak juga untuk baca buku akhirnya berguna jugalah DVD tersebut sebagai intermezo kegiatan liburanku. Dari sejumlah DVD tersebut aku sudah menonton hampir semua film yang berbau romantis, jadi aku berpikir untuk kembali ke dunia HI dan menonton film yang agak berbau politik internasional. Jadilah aku memilih untuk menonton film Hotel Rwanda. Film ini dibintangi oleh Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, dan Nick Nolte dan diproduksi pada tahun 2004. Film ini bercerita tentang bagaimana seorang manager hotel bernama Paul Rusesabagina dengan tulus memberikan hotel bintang lima-nya yang bernama Hôtel des Mille Collines menjadi tempat penampungan sementara bagi sekitar 1350 orang selama kerusuhan antara suku Tutsi dan Hutu di Rwanda. Diawal film aku pikir film ini akan penuh dengan intrik-intrik politik yang akan membuatku ngantuk. Ternyata enggak, film ini memuat banyak nilai kemanusian dan HAM. Menurutku film ini cukup sesuai dengan cluster HI yang akan kupilih nantinya ‘Masyarakat Transnasional’ karena film ini memuat cukup kuat tentang individual identity. Dipertengahan film aku sempat menitikkan air mata sewaktu si Madam yang berkerja di Palang Merah bercerita bagaimana seorang bocah yatim piatu Tutsi dibunuh oleh tentara Hutu. Kira-kira si bocah itu bilang begini ke Madam “Please don’t let them kill me, I promise I won’t be Tutsi again.” Ironis waktu si wartawan asing menanyakan suku kepada dua orang gadis yang sedang duduk di bar hotel karena sebenarnya dari fisik keduanya tidak bisa terbedakan (mungkin dari nama terbedakan). Kemudian si wartawan bilang “They could be twice.”, sangkin gak bisa bedakannya mana Tutsi dan Hutu. Yang aku tangkap dari film tersebut disebutkan disitu bahwa pada awalnya kaum kolonialis Belgia yang pernah menjajah daerah Rwanda lah pertama sekali yang membagi antara suku Tutsi dan Hutu. Si Tutsi adalah orang yang hidungnya lebih bagus dan memiliki perawakan elegan, mereka adalah kaum minoriti. Mereka dipercaya oleh kolonialis Belgia untuk mengusahakan administrasi di wilayah jajahannya pada saat itu. Semenata suku Hutu adalah orang-orang dengan perwakan lebih hitam dan hidung yang besar. Mereka yang kaum mayoritas diabaikan dan dijadikan sebagai pekerja kasar. Nah, selepas dari jajahan Belgia, maka kaum Hutu ingin melakukan pembalasan kepada kaum Tutsi karena selama ini mereka hidup dalam penderitaan. Pembalasan tersebut terwujud oleh semangat nyata dari para pemimpin militer Hutu. Situasi semakin memburuk ketika Presiden Rwanda saat itu terbunuh diatas pesawat yang tertembak pada saat hendak mengadakan kesekepakan perdamaian. Sementara itu sebagian dunia luar (terutama Barat) tutup mata dan tidak ingin ikut campur dengan permasalahan ini. Aku belum mencari informasi lebih lanjut kenapa sikap negara Barat seperti itu, namun analisis sementaraku menyimpulkan bahwa pihak Barat tidak melihat adanya intrest di Rwanda. Maka akhirnya terjadilah genocide besar-besaran di Rwanda yang meskipun tidak ada sensus resmi dari pemerintah Rwanda, namun diperkirakan memakan korban meninggal lebih dari 1.000.000 jiwa.

Kalau aku bandingkan dengan kasus genocide dan pelanggaran HAM berat yang lain, menurutku sebenarnya konflik di Rwanda ini tidak begitu pelik, hanya menyangkut kepentingan antara dua suku, kepentingan politik segelintir pemimpin militer dan kepentingan ekonomi mengingat Rwanda tergolong negara dunia ke-3. Secara keseluhan menurutku konflik di negara-negara eks Yugoslavia seperti Serbia dan Bosnia lebih pelik karena menyangkut perselisahan beberapa agama, suku, dan kepentingan negara-negara powerful. Pada akhirnya aku bisa bilang kalo cerita di film ini bagus banget. Banyak nilai-nilai yang bisa kamu serap dari film ini. I recommend u to watch it!

Waktu, Kondisi dan Berita Terkini

Waktu: am 00.40

Tempat: Kamar

Kondisi: Lagi nonton film DearDevil yang sountracknya dinyanyikan sama Evanesence trus waktu si Mattnya ngomong kata ‘stay with me’ ke Electranya romantis sekali ^^

Berita I: Hari ini ada berita buruk yang membuatku sakit hati. Rasanya kayak patah hati saja. Sedih sekali. Tapi gak apa-apa lah, aku pikir ini rencana Tuhan juga untuk mengatur jadwalku. I won’t tell u the detail, but truly I don’t like the way they threat me.

Berita II: Hari ini tulisanku untuk Buletin PMKA Asrama sudah di publish. Tapi aku sengaja buat anonim. Tapi jadinya kurang bagus. Jadi nyesal untuk buat anonim. Mungkin lain kali ya?

Berita III: Hari ini aku senang sekali karena baru saja selesai mengajar murid privateku yang pertama. Aku senang sekali karena dia mau belajar dan karena ada kemajuan kalau aku ngajar. Dan yang paling buat kau senang, aku dapat uang tambahan dari situ. Masnya juga baik mau antar jemput aku. Waktu antar aku pulang tadi ada cerita lucu dengannya. Jadi waktu tadi pulang aku kan cerita basa-basi dengannya. Sebenarnya aku agak bingung juga dengan tingkah lakunya. Bayangkan, jalan ke rumahnya itu kecil, berlubang-lubang, sempit dan padat. Serius deh aku baru pertama kali melihat tempat seperti itu. Tapi dia bisa bawak motor sambil bonceng aku dnegan satu tangan. Lebih hebatnya lagi dia sambil teleponan gitu. Hebat ya? Sekalian aja bawak traktor Mas, kayaknya udah profesional banget. Terus udah sampai di tehnik, aku bilang kan sama dia supaya belok aja biar ambil jalan menembus asrama. Aku kan biasanya sama abangku lewat jalan itu. Ternyata di situ, rupanya tempat mojok. Terus aku jadi malu gitu mengajak dia dari situ.

(not in the mood to telling u ‘bout it, I’ll continue tomorrow)

Friday, February 29, 2008 00:43