Indonesian Short Film, Basri & Salma Qualifies Cannes Film Festival Competition

JAKARTA - The film Basri & Salma In A Never Ending Story will be the first Indonesian short film to compete in the Cannes Film Festival. This was discovered after the organizer of one of the largest film festivals in the world announced 11 short films that will compete at the 76th Cannes Film Festival which will be held on May 16-27.

Basri & Salma in a Never Ending Comedy follows two other Indonesian films that have competed in the Cannes Film Festival, namely Daun on Pillow (1998) and Serambi (2005), both of which are included in the Un Certain Regard category (long story film).

According to Khozy Rizal as the director and scriptwriter, his film was inspired by his habit of seeing odong-odong in Makassar. He saw odong-odong has its own beauty, especially at night with its colorful lights.

Like the odong-odong who became his inspiration, Khozy made a story with two main characters, Basri dam Salma as an odong-odong driver.

This film is about Basri and Salma, a husband and wife who work as an odong-odong handyman. They have been married for 5 years. In 5 years their marriage has not been blessed with children," said Khozy Rizal during a virtual press conference on Thursday, April 27.

"One day he had to come to his brother's aqiqah event, where he got a lot of questions like 'when do you have children?' and all kinds of things. So Basri and Salma began to have doubts. There were many questions so that something very magic happened," he continued.

Apart from odong-odong, Khozy also told how his family's condition was also one of the inspirations in his work. He admitted that he often quarreled with other family members. However, he sees the situation as comedy.

"I feel the most different from my family. My heart is very conservative Muslims and every family meeting always feels very tight because many unwanted questions arise, unwanted devices are like that," he said.

"I get a statement like that when I respond to it like a ketus, so I often fight like that at home. For me it's comedy, and it keeps repeating every time I meet my family," he continued.

For information, Basri & Salma In A Never Ending Story will compete with 10 other short films from different countries.

Here's a list of short films competing at the Cannes Film Festival: LA PERRA by Carla Melo Gampert Kolombia and France

AS IT WAS By Anastasia Soonevych & Damian KocurPoland And Ukraine

TITS by Eivind LandsvikNorwegia

27 by Fl Wayra Anna Budakhungaria and France

LE SEXE DE MA MEMBERRE BY Francis Cani

AUNQUE ES DE NOCHE BY Guillermo Garc

BASRI & SALMA IN A NEVER-ENDING COMEDY BY Khozy RizalIndonesia

POOF by Margaret Miller of the United States of America

NADA DE TODO ESTO by Patricio Mart Marijuez & Francisco Canton Argentina and Spain

WILD SUMMON by Karni Arieli & Saul Freed England

F wayR by Gunnur Martinsd Marijukttir SchlöterIsland