Nuansa Magis Film Bisu Hitam Putih Karya Garin Nugroho Present At Cine-Concert Samsara

Samsara (Bambang E Ros)

JAKARTA - Reviving the golden age of ancient times and the present era in the film industry is a ingredient presented by director Garin Nugroho through the film Samsara. One Bisu film without dialogue in a black and white format set in Bali in the 30s.

Starring actor Ario Bayu and dancer of Indonesian-Australian descent, Juliet Widyasari Burnett. In the Samsara film, there are many elements of cultural traditions and then combined with modern elements, such as a combination of Bali gamelan music and electronic music.

"Era used to be a silent film at the beginning of our industry was a golden age. Samsara combines methods between silent films, shadow puppets, electronic music duo Gabber Operandi which became a trend in clubs, dancers to gamelan music," said Garin Nugroho.

The Samsara director also revealed that the works he made wanted to be presented in many formats. Create and open a new exploration space in the art world. The project, which is supported by the Djarum Foundation's Bakti Budaya, is also present in two formats, namely cinema or film and cinema-concert performances. Create a performance version, Samsara really wants to provide a different experience for the audience.

"If I make Opera, Java, there are performances, installation works, and everything is transformed in various forms of art. I also made films, cinemas, fashion exhibitions, installation works in the transformative world, which are the current characteristics," said Garin Nugroho on Friday, November 15 at the Indonesia Kaya Gallery, Jakarta.

Samsara in the cine-concert stage format will be displayed in two cities, namely in Yogyakarta on December 5, 2024, and on December 13-15, 2024 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta.

Tells the story of a man from a poor family who is rejected by his application by the rich parents of a woman he loves. He entered into a supernatural agreement with the Monkey King and performed a dark ritual to gain wealth.

But in the process, the ritual actually condemns his wife and children to suffer. Samsara displays many elements of traditional Balinese performances such as gamelan orchestras, traditional dances, masks, and puppets combined with digital electronic music and contemporary dances and masks.

Samsara which means 'born again' is a unique project that combined the art of performances and cinemas before gaining success when appearing at the Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore on May 10, 2024, and on August 16, 2024 at the Indonesia Bertur (Intur) 2024 event which was held at Peninsula Island, Nusa Dua, Bali.

During the performance in Bali, Samsara's cine-concert was watched by more than 2,500 people, and most of the audience and art connoisseurs were amazed by the magic of the performance. High appreciation is also expected in the next two cities, namely Yogyakarta and Jakarta, and maybe in other cities in the world.

Famous artists and dancers in the country and Bali such as: Dance Maestro I Ketut Arini, Gus Bang Sada, Siko Setyanto, Cok Sawitri, Aryani Willems, and choreographer Ida Ayu Wayan Arya Satyani, as well as dancers from the Bumi Bajra Community, Bali will be involved and included in Samsara production

"Seeing Mas Garin's journey with dishes that are very thick with Indonesian culture and traditions, when watching it not only spoils the eyes and ears," said Billy Gamaliel as Program Manager of the Djarum Foundation Cultural Service.

Furthermore, Billy also said, "In Samsara there are many elements of culture and tradition, then combined with modern ones. In line with the mission we carried out, bringing Indonesian culture and traditions closer through the performance stage, this is a very interesting synergy especially after the success of the first world performance in Singapore, hopefully this will be a sweet closing presentation of performing arts connoisseurs."

Later, Samsara will also feature the music performance of Gamelan Bali performed by Wayan Sudirana, a music composer and ethnomusicologist who graduated from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As well as digital electronic music performed by the Gabber Modus Operandi music group, namely Kasimyn and Ican Harem with a music presentation from a ticket from several genres.