JAKARTA - Alyssa Abidin is a young actress who is relatively new to the film industry. Starting from a number of short films, Alyssa was then trusted to join in a number of feature film productions.
After several years in the world of acting, Alyssa Abidin was trusted to play the main role in the film Kuyang: Sekutu Iblis yang Selalu Mengintai. She plays Sriatun, a wife who follows her husband to move to work in the remote area.
“I didn't know anything about Kuyang before, but I knew about what it looks like. This is a typical ghost with a head and flying internal organ, hard to forget, and something different. After researching the footage, it was also interesting to find out that many local people were discussing it and this was inspired by a novel which was quite viral," said Alyssa Abidin to VOI.
The woman who was born on August 17 feels that the difference in her character as Sriatun is very inversely proportional to who she is in everyday life. She admits that she is a person who is more lively and likes to chat while Sriatun is a quiet person.
In fact, she only felt similarities with Sriatun after filming for the film Kuyang finished. It is known that when Alyssa was promoting this film, Alyssa was pregnant with her first child.
"I just found out because when we are pregnant we become much more sensitive, our five senses, our hearing are more sensitive and because many people say they are emotionally vulnerable and there are those who believe that pregnant women must be protected because they are more sensitive, that's why Sri is often disturbed by mystical terror", said Alyssa.
"That's what I also feel from the five senses, nausea becomes easier and maybe sensitivity is higher," explained Alyssa about her pregnancy.
The film Kuyang is a collaboration between Alyssa Abidin and Aenigma Pictures. According to her, this film was a development for the two of them as collaborators, starting from the story theme to the production process which made an impression on Alyssa.
"What makes this film different is because the theme itself is still rare. If we talk about Indonesian horror films, it's definitely Kuntilanak, Tuyul, but this adds a reference. I like regional stories, folk tales that only exist in Indonesia and maybe don't exist in other regions," she said.
"I like the idea of the film trying to highlight folklore with the drama of the family relationship of a husband and wife who have to face terror, which makes me enthusiastic about Indonesian and grounded folklore," said the 28 year old actress.
Alyssa explained that she grew up exposed to various Indonesian cultures which made her explore the world of dance since childhood. This made her interested in exploring Indonesian culture on the big screen so that she did not waste the opportunity to act in the film Kuyang.
“I studied a lot of regional dancing because I really like Indonesian things. Since I was little, I've loved dancing and it's not just one area, so I tried to learn it because I thought it was really interesting and it turned out to be useful because several film projects required dancing skills. Because I often practice dancing, shooting scenes becomes more enjoyable," she said.
"On the other hand, there were many memorable experiences because it happened that this was the first major role, there were definitely more scenes and in longer locations, and it was a physical and mental endurance that was emotionally tested. Filming horror will have reversed hour, when people sleeping, we have to be ready, it's impressive," said Alyssa.
Collaboration of Dance and Acting
How did she come across acting after studying dance? It turns out this started three years ago when she played a role in Aenigma Pictures' first film. Since then, she began to actively look for opportunities to act in films.
"Acting! The basics of theater have been since I was a child, since I entered junior high school, I took theater classes, so every year my hobby for acting was always trained in stage arts. I entered the world of film in a new way and had a new experience of being told to stay in one area. So that's what I feel is the difference on stage and on camera," she said.
“I can also see Aenigma's development as a PH and they see my development as an actor. Much more prepared, from the process before filming there was a lot of detailed preparation in front of the camera, quite intensive reading, physical exercise, research with sources," explained Alyssa again.
Interestingly, Alyssa is also a yoga teacher. She revealed that the yoga activity was chosen during the pandemic, but starting as a curiousity, Alyssa has increasingly felt the benefits of yoga in her acting career.
“It turns out that increasing your body's exercise makes it even better. Horror scenes like possession or like in the trailer, that's something I'm used to. Then the director asked me to give him the option of a unique form of possession and I did it. I am happy and lucky because I cultivate my body a lot," said Alyssa.
Alyssa Abidin wants to continue exploring her role in the world of acting. She is very open to various opportunities and always has the desire to deepen her character for a long time.
"Why I chose to be here is because I like acting and that's what made me loyal to acting since I was little. In my opinion, the art of acting can develop me individually, in terms of personality and hopefully I will get the opportunity to play other roles with an in-depth process that is quite considered, for example when we are filming, what is fun is the process before filming, such as deepening the character, research, building chemistry with other actors, which is I'm waiting for," said Alyssa Abidin.
In this film, Alyssa plays a quite convincing trance scene. For this 28 year old woman, the trance scene was an interesting experience.
Alyssa, who is also a yoga instructor, admitted that she included yoga movements in the trance scene.
"The project made me learn yoga in vain. So I am a yoga instructor. At first I didn't think it would help," said Alyssa Abidin.
"Just suddenly, Yongki was like, 'You're giving me a different scene in this scene'. Something that other people don't think of. So it's actually a yoga position," he continued.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
