TANGERANG SOUTH - The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Fadli Zon, emphasized that the Santri Film Festival (SANFFEST) must be a real path to expanding the film ecosystem - not just a temporary stage. He assessed that pesantren has a big story capital, but so far it has often not been given enough production and coaching space.
The statement was made by Fadli when attending the SANFFEST Ramadan Film Screening at the Data and Information Center (Pusdatin) of the Ministry of Culture, Ciputat, South Tangerang, Sunday, March 1.
"The Film Festival has started since last year and is part of the Ministry of Culture's program, with the hope that everyone has the opportunity to advance Indonesian national culture. One of the expressions of culture is art, including film," said Fadli in front of the leaders of the boarding school and the students.
Fadli emphasized that culture is not merely a matter of art. He said there are 10 Cultural Development Objects: language, literature, oral traditions, manuscripts, rituals, customs, traditional games, traditional sports, local food, and art. According to him, films are important because they are able to "accommodate" many of these elements at once.
"In the film there is the art of acting, language, literature, music, dance, textiles, even food. Film is a platform that contains many elements of art and culture, as well as the easiest to disseminate in today's digital era," he said.
He added, the Ministry of Culture now prioritizes five art ecosystems in national talent management: film, music, performing arts, visual arts, and literature. Its programs include nurseries, workshops, capacity building, to mentoring by maestros and experts.
Fadli also explained the market conditions which he considered to be profitable: national films are said to have controlled about 67 percent of the domestic cinema market share. He called this achievement an opportunity, especially for the younger generation, including students, to enter the industry more seriously.
He reviewed the Indonesian film's footprint at international festivals such as IFFR Rotterdam, Clermont-Ferrand, Berlinale, Sundance, Cannes, Busan, and Venice, as well as the festival ecosystem in the country such as the Indonesian Film Festival, Jakarta Film Week, and Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival.
Regarding the story's basis, Fadli highlighted that Indonesia has around 42,000 pesantren, supported by 1,340 ethnic groups and 718 regional languages. He said that pesantren has a unique intellectual tradition and discussion space. He gave an example of the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta by Habiburrahman El Shirazy which was adapted into a film and won millions of viewers as proof that the story from pesantren has a market.
This event was attended by the leaders of pesantren and santri from Pondok Pesantren Qatrun Nada, Rahmaniyah Al-Islami, At-Taqwa, and Fajar Dunia. Fadli was accompanied by, among others, the Director of Digital Culture Development Andi Syamsu Rijal and Special Staff for Protocol and Household Rachmanda Primayuda.
"The strength of the film is in the story. And Indonesia has never lacked stories. The students have very unique experiences, traditions, and perspectives," said Fadli.
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