The Screening Of Islamic Boarding Schools In Cinemas Is Postponed, This Is The Reason

JAKARTA - The plan for the release of the film Pesantren in theaters on August 4 had to be postponed. Lola Amaria from Lola Amaria Production, which is the distributor of Islamic Boarding School films in Indonesia, is sad to announce the news.

"We are sad and find it very difficult to announce this postponement, especially since this film is quite awaited, not only by the santri, but also Indonesian film audiences who are predominantly Muslim but are curious about what life is like in Islamic boarding schools which are rarely accessed by the public," he said when contacted on Wednesday, August 3rd.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Nyai Masriyah Amva as the leader of the Pondok Kebon Jambu Islamic Boarding School understands this delay and gives a message that "Patience is the real victory," he said.

This film has proven to be well received at several special screenings that have been held, including when it was the opening film for the 2021 Madani International Film Festival.

Ekky Imanjaya as the board of the Madani International Film Festival said that the film Pesantren is a suitable film to open the 2021 festival because it fits the theme of that year, namely Light: The Light, the Witty. Ekky included the film Pesantren in the list of the best Indonesian films in 2021.

This documentary film about the life of the Pondok Kebon Jambu Islamic boarding school, which is one of the largest Islamic boarding schools in Cirebon, was screened for the first time at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2019.

IDFA is the largest documentary festival in the world. At IDFA, tickets to the film Pesantren were sold out a week before the festival for three screenings. It was planned to be released in theaters in Indonesia in April 2020, but was later postponed due to the pandemic.

Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) was impressed after watching the film Pesantren. The film by director Salahuddin Siregar shows how the students are not confined by strict rules as pesantren are known in the community by showing the artistic side and progress of the times.

"I am really touched and proud. The film is original, original, and even more original (the Islamic boarding school as the object of the film), has not changed like when I was a child," said Cak Imin at XXI Epicentrum, South Jakarta, Monday, August 1.