Exclusive Awi Suryadi Story Of The Challenges Behind The Success Of The KKN Film In Dancing Village

JAKARTA - The KKN film in Penari Village was enthusiastically welcomed by Indonesian film audiences. Had been delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film, directed by Awi Suryadi, immediately grabbed one million viewers in just four days of screening since April 30, 2022.

KKN di Desa Penari is a film adapted from a vital tweet on Twitter in 2019 by the account @SimpleM81378523 aka SimpleMan. Actually, MD Pictures immediately adapted this film and was scheduled to greet theaters in March 2020. However, it was changed to February 2022 and then finally aired starting April 30, 2022.

The story of this film concerns myths and mystical stories experienced by a group of students who are doing real work lectures (KKN) in a village. They are Tissa Biani as Nur, Adinda Thomas as Widya, Aghniny Haque as Ayu, Ahmad Megantara as Bima, Calvin Jeremy as Anton, and Fajar Nugraha as Wahyu.

As a director, Awi admitted that he felt bad when the broadcast date kept changing because netizens kept asking when the exact date of the KKN was broadcast in the Dancer Village. "I'm relieved that it's finally aired. Because some netizens ask politely, then get angry, until they finally blaspheme because the broadcast date keeps changing. But that's the producer's authority, not mine as a director," said Awi when he visited the editorial office. VOI, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, some time ago.

The emotional escalation of netizens actually made him enthusiastic. This shows that the KKN film in Penari Village is really eagerly awaited.

"I think it's cool that I have a debt to the audience. I'm sure producers have certain considerations when scheduling broadcasts. And I think this is the best time right now," he continued.

According to Awi, the pandemic condition that can be overcome has given him optimism since the final plan for the film's screening was confirmed. "The current conditions are PPKM level one in several places. Then cinemas can open at 100% capacity, very fitting for KKN in the Dancer Village. Because this film is the type of film that must be enjoyed together in theaters," he said.

Departing from the viral story, Awi admitted that he was not burdened as a director. Although he admitted that many sent messages to him to film KKN in Penari Village before finally being appointed by MD Pictures to be the director.

"It's not a burden, actually, because doing hype or not, it's the producer's portion that sells out. I wear a director's hat thinking that this film's story doesn't work for me. When I read the threat I couldn't stop reading. So read on, it's interesting to read filmed," he recalls.

Awi admitted that he was always late when he participated in anything hype, including the KKN story in the Dancer Village. "I read it late. When many people mentioned it, I just read it. It turns out that from a story perspective, it is very full," he said.

"I have worked on many drama films as well as horror films, when I read the story I thought this was something I had never read and was very suitable to be visualized. My burden is how I can visually describe this story, and it hits the reader. No, I'm sure the producers have careful consideration," added Awi Suryadi.

The man who was born in Lampung, September 24, 1977, chose to be loyal to the story built by Simple Man. He made no attempt to add to or subtract from the story.

"You can almost say that nothing has been changed from the threat. Even if you change it, it's just like thinking about the timeline. Because the film has a duration that must be followed for screening in theaters. But fans of the story will not be disappointed because we follow the blueprint of the original story," said Awi .

Filming started seriously by looking for locations that were very similar and natural as the story on Twitter. Because he did not get a permit at the original location, Awi chose to bring hundreds of crew and players to Jogjakarta.

"At first we thought the shooting was mostly in the Bogor area and its surroundings. But if we follow the story I don't think we will get it in Jakarta or Bogor and its surroundings. So I told MD to find the right location. From the start Simple Man told us we couldn't do it. filmed at the original location because he was also reprimanded by the traditional head there because this is something that I don't really want to bring up again," he said.

However, for an illustration, Awi still visited the original location of the story. "Now the location has changed a lot, from the story. The location has advanced, in the end it's not possible in the original location either. Finally, go hunting to Jogja," said Awi.

In Jogja, he said, there are several choices of locations that are close to the story where many wooden houses have earth floors. In addition, access is also easy to reach.

"In Jogja we find several houses in the forest that are like stories. Wooden houses, minimal electric lighting, close to the story. I myself, or maybe in Indonesian films, I don't think anyone is looking for the location," said the director of the Badoet film. .

A similar location, he continued, was needed because Awi didn't want to use CGI technology from the start to beautify the KKN film in Penari Village. All visuals presented are truly original settings.

"All of them are real sets, yes. So some people's houses are already there and match the story we use. For houses that don't exist yet, such as the sinden house, we build that, we also build a bathing pool," he said.

Shooting Challenges from Weather to Controlling Snakes

It is not an easy thing for Awi Suryadi to create visuals as closely as possible to the original story of KKN in the Dancing Village. His commitment to using original sets with stories in the early '90s meant he had to work hard. The main obstacle that must be conquered is the weather.

"It's the weather, because when we decided to produce, Pak Manoj Punjabi initially set the target of broadcasting early March 2020. So we filmed it at the end of 2019, the rainy season. Usually I avoid shooting at that time. Because rain is an obstacle, and because the target is also being chased," he recalls.

For him, the weather is his greatest enemy. The location has been found, Awi still has to make peace with unpredictable natural conditions. "Once our shoot was battered by the rainy and stormy weather. There were days when we had set the location and it rained all day. And finally the crew couldn't shoot and the set was damaged. The forest and lands collapsed so we had to make new ones, " he said.

There was a time when Awi felt demoralized because it had been raining all day making all his shooting plans couldn't be done. In fact, he felt that he had received a warning from God when he faced uncertain weather.

"There are times when we are excited to be creative when we come to the shooting location in the morning, it's been raining all day. It's like being reprimanded by God, you can make plans, but God still decides," he explained.

Another challenge is the large number of crew involved, so Awi must really control it well. "This is my horror film that involves the most crew. As if we had 150 people on location, we were ready to shoot, but when the weather hit us we didn't do anything from morning to night. It felt like coming home to be a loser," he explained.

Another heavy burden that must be faced is the number of snakes involved. Awi's commitment to not using CGI made him have to be prepared to bring hundreds of snakes to the shooting location.

"We from Jakarta bring specific snakes, we can't bring snakes that are different from snakes in Jogja. So we hunted snakes in Cilacap before shooting. We brought a total of 110 snakes. Big 19, small 100. That's not it. easy to manage," explained this fan of the horror film Suzanna.

During filming, the snakes couldn't be arranged like a movie player. "In the scene where we involve a lot of snakes, when the snake is placed on the head, all of them run away. So from the first 100 snakes, after shooting the remaining 60 snakes. When we filmed we didn't know where the snake was, so we just continued shooting. filming finally the handler is looking for the snake," he said.

Like people in general, the KKN film players in the Dancer Village were initially afraid of snakes. "The one who is not the bravest is Kiki Narendra, who plays Pak Prabu. Adinda Thomas, who plays Lidya, was scared at first. But because we have a month to read and learn how to handle it, he finally dared," he explained.

Tissa Biani who plays Nur received praise from Awi. According to him, Tissa had been in his mind since the beginning when he read the viral KKN story in the Dancer Village.

"Tissa is really good, indeed from the start I imagined that Nur Tissa was wearing a hijab. I don't know, I can't imagine the others. Once she was cast, she was able to deliver the story well," explained Awi.

Horror films have always had their fans. Not only in Indonesia, in several other countries, horror films get a large audience even though other genres are falling.

KKN in Penari Village again confirmed this. After being hit by Hurricane Omicron and the cinemas being deserted again, KKN in Penari Village made the cinemas crowded again. Even the tickets booked at some theaters were sold out for the next three days.

Awi does not deny this fact nor does he avoid other genres. "I really like all genres, but since the success with Badoet and Danur continued, I have received horror offers. Indeed, I think shooting horror films is more fun. Camera movement is much more precise. It's more satisfying for me as a film maker," he said. .

But he admits that not all horror films, especially Indonesia, have good quality. Even below standard. This actually made Awi nervous.

"I like to get annoyed when I see a bad horror film, it feels like I have been fooled. If a drama or comedy is bad, I still laugh.

The most enjoyable thing when watching horror films is the complete viewing experience. Awi wants to present films of that quality. "Horror films are most satisfying when watched in theaters," he said.

As if he didn't want to be satisfied with the success of KKN in the Dancer Village, Awi prepared to release the film, the story of the Land of Java. "It's horror again, yes. But this is different from KKN in Dancer Village. It's also different from Danur," he said.

The opening of the cinema at full capacity made Awi feel relieved. At first, he was worried because the digital era has changed people's viewing habits.

"I was worried that the digital shift was very fast. I was worried that people would get used to watching it on their cellphones later, they wouldn't even want to go to the cinema. There are types of films that can be enjoyed at home, some that I think can only be enjoyed optimally in the cinema," he explained.

Awi Suryadi's worries seem unfounded. "This concern has prompted me as a film maker not to disappoint the audience. Because they come to the cinema with a lot of hassle, if they are disappointed they won't want to go to the cinema anymore. That's why I don't agree if there is a film dedicated to OTT and then shown in theaters. Likewise a film that is designed to be shown in theaters, it's a shame if it airs directly on OTT," he said.

In fact, KKN in Penari Village is selling well. This film has pocketed 7 million viewers as of May 19. Even though the queue of spectators at the cinema still occurs to watch KKN in the Dancer Village. This means that the possibility of this film being the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time is still open.

Whatever it is, Awi admits that he is ready to accept changes. He hopes to continue to provide the best work for cinema.

"As a film maker, I prefer to make feature films. With the data on the number of viewers that continues to rise, it makes me remain optimistic." said Awi Suryadi.