National Poem Day, Mira Lesmana And Riri Reza Release Video Art Anthology Series: Me, Chairil

Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza during the press conference for the launch of Aku, Chairil (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - To commemorate National Poem Day which falls on April 28, Miles Films launched a video art anthology series entitled Aku, Chairil. The series, which consists of 7 episodes, was initiated by Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza as a tribute to Chairil Anwar as a big name in the world of Indonesian literature.

Mira Lesmana revealed that her production house intends to make a biopic film Chairil Anwar in 2021. However, the plan had not been implemented until she finally decided to make a work in the form of a video art anthology.

"Perhaps many already know, we really love Chairil Anwar. Around 2021 we plan to make a film about Chairil Anwar. Because of the pandemic, we finally tried to make a work about Chairil in the form of another interesting work," said Mira Lesmana during a press conference at the Sarinah Building, Central Jakarta on Friday, April 28.

The film producer who is the daughter of Jack Lesmana admits that the process of making her new anthology series is not easy. Of the many poems that Chairil Anwar has produced, Mira must involve many people to curate.

"Initially it was quite difficult, so I tried the curation first with about tens of people and we gave it to artists, chose which one was involved in their hearts," said Mira.

In the 7 episodes presented, I, Chairil present 7 top Indonesian actors, including Lukman Sardi, Ine Febrianti, Jerome Kurnia, Reza Rahadian, Christine Hakim, Nicholas Saputra, and Happy Salma.

Mira said that the selection of actors was passed through a long discussion with many people. The reason is, he wants actors who not only act, but can also read poetry well.

"We discussed together, who are the actors who can read poetry," he said.

Sementara itu, Riri Riza berharap serial anthologi art video Aku, Chairil bisa membuat penonton terkoneksi dengan karya-karya sqng oenyair.

"This presentation is intended to be a way of communicating with the hope that the audience will learn to connect with these works, create their own grooves, common ground, and relevance on National Poem Day with Chairil," said Riri Riza

"Our hope is that when we make works like this, the audience can then read the works and books from Chairil Anwar himself," he concluded.