JAKARTA - Today, March 30, 2020, to be precise, Indonesia celebrates National Film Day. For more than 20 years, our film industry has experienced ups and downs in producing films that can be enjoyed by the public. This struggle is still being felt until now when the COVID-19 pandemic or the corona virus forces the cinema network to be temporarily closed.
Since the beginning of the year - although the number of moviegoers is still relatively weak compared to previous years - several familiar titles have attracted attention. For example, the continuation of the story of Dilan and Milea, namely Milea: The Voice of Dilan which drew more than 3 million viewers even though it was relatively low compared to the previous series.
Some production houses that were initially optimistic about releasing their films in the midst of the corona virus pandemic issue also had to temporarily withdraw from theaters, such as Mariposa and Before the Devil Picked Up 2. No party can be blamed for this outbreak, but unfortunately we must enjoy National Film Day by not going to the cinema.
Usually, in this National Film month, cinema chains screen selected films. The list can be a variety of popular Indonesian films or selected films that still attract audiences. Moreover, the rapid production of films has made the competition peaked every year.
Not to mention that various film festivals have helped promote Indonesian films, for example, the Jogja Netpac Film Festival or JAFF. This Yogyakarta-based film festival was able to attract the attention of the audience, causing queues to snag. Remember when Visinema Pictures chose to premiere Keluarga Cemara at JAFF 2018, at that time the audience had already queued up from the morning even though the tickets had run out.
The cast and production team who attended the premiere at JAFF were touched by the enthusiasm of the audience who wanted to wait for Yandy Laurens' adaptation. This interest succeeded in bringing the film beyond 1.7 million viewers during its screening period in early 2019.
The corona virus pandemic has also resulted in a number of domino effects on Indonesian cinema. In addition to the closure of a number of theaters, several production houses have chosen to postpone their film screening schedules, including KKN in Penari, Tersanjung, and Homecoming Villages.
Fortunately, the digital role is a hero. Various movie sites give access to those who live at home, including GoPlay, Vidio, Netflix, iFlix, VIU, and many more. Even though we can't watch the latest Indonesian films, at least we can watch films legally.
Falcon Pictures production house also celebrated National Film Day 2020 by providing free viewing of Warkop and Benyamin through their YouTube channel. Using the hashtag Nostalgia at Rumah wrote, Falcon has provided the films Gee Eer Gede Rasa, Sama Gilanya, IQ Jongkok, and Benyamin Biang Kerok for a month until April 28.
There is no sign yet when the corona virus outbreak will end, but we must keep calm. National Film Day 2020 can be interpreted under various conditions but it all returns to the individual.
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