Exploration Of Indonesian Young Filmmakers At The 2020 Plaza Indonesia Film Festival

The People Behind PIFF 2020 (Tarida Angelina / VOI)

JAKARTA - In addition to cinemas, now film fans are increasingly spoiled by a number of alternative cinema mediums to watch films. One of them, the Plaza Indonesia Film Festival (PIFF), which is entering its fifth year.

Carrying the theme Colors of Love, this festival presents films that we cannot necessarily see in public theaters. Through a press conference held at the Disrupto Society, Plaza Indonesia, Tuesday, February 18, a number of film activists as well as representatives from Kinosaurus, Plaza Indonesia, and Istituto Italiano in Cultura explained their interest in participating in this festival.

Sugar Nadia as the curator of the PIFF 2020 film explained some details regarding the selection of films shown at PIFF. They saw the development of film festivals in the world and the films in the festival won awards and appreciation. Therefore, the reason why film festivals are in demand is that the choice of films is always curated.

Great interest can be seen from the past three years when sales tickets sold out in less than a few hours. This condition is different compared to several years ago when PIFF took a week to sell out all tickets. In addition, PIFF now has an extended period of up to a week for playback.

We are proud to announce the lineup for Plaza Indonesia Film Festival 2020: COLORS OF LOVE. 24 - 28 February 2020 Cinema XXI Plaza Indonesia Stay tuned on our instagram for more updates! # PlazaIndonesia # PIFF2020 # PIFF pic.twitter.com/IlvLJbNCiX

- plazaindonesia (@plazaindonesia) February 10, 2020

Jogja-NETPAC's First Collaboration

PIFF is a film festival in Jakarta that fulfills the desires of film lovers. PIFF has boldly presented films that have won several awards at home and abroad. This year, they also collaborated with the Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF), a film festival owned by Yogyakarta which is no less popular.

Through their collaboration, they present films from JAFF such as Bura by Eden Junjung, Adam by Shoki Lin, Nothing's Crazy in This City by Wregas Bhanuteja, Come Back Quietly by Reza Fahriansyah, and I Am Zal by Hooman Naderi.

Speaking of film, Yosep Anggi Noen, director of the film The Science of Fictions, said that the film has a different way of speaking Indonesian cinema. Therefore, this film must be watched at PIFF even though there are plans to show it in theaters.

Asmara Abigail as one of the cast of The Science of Fictions expressed her enthusiasm for playing in the film directed by Yosep. He saw that the development of films in Asia was also getting higher. He also hopes that the government can support the film industry even more, that is one of the reasons why Parasite can compete abroad.

Maria Battaglia and Zamri Mamat (Tarida Angelina / VOI)

Federico Bellini's 100 Years Award

What is different from this year, there are two films by Federico Bellini that were shown at PIFF. In order to celebrate Bellini's 100th year, PIFF collaborates with Istituto Italiano in Cultura to screen Bellini's films. The two films are La Dolce Vita (Life is Beautiful) and 8½. Both of them won an Academy Award and presented a different vibe.

Apart from screening, PIFF also prepared a special photo exhibition for the 8½ film directed by Paul Ronald and curated by Antonio Maraldi. These photos show the behind-the-scenes shooting process for the film. PIFF visitors can visit this photo exhibition at Level 4, Plaza Indonesia from today to the end of February 2020.

Bringing Bellini's film into the festival is a matter of pride because they will be showing a film that has been restored and this plan has been in the works since last year. Maria Battaglia as the representative of Istituto Italiano in Cultura hopes for cooperation for other Italian films.

Learn the Film Process from the Experts

PIFF is also preparing a Movie Clinic program in collaboration with Kinosaurus, a Jakarta microcinema that helps this class happen. Six speakers will share about the process of making films such as Joko Anwar, Riri Riza, Mira Lesmana, Tara Basro, Chitra Subiyakto, and Ical Tanjung. This class will start on February 21st to February 25th.

The films you can watch on PIFF include Mountain Song (Indonesia), House of Hummingbird (South Korea), Monos (Columbia), The Science of Fictions (Indonesia), The Lighthouse, System Crasher (Germany), Honeyland (Maedonia) . You can make a booking through the official website of Plaza Indonesia.

The role of film festivals has become an influence on the breath of the industry. Yosep said, "The festival is a meeting space and an energy for filmmakers." Film festivals are also a place to learn and meet filmmakers. See you at the Plaza Indonesia Film Festival 2020.