[FILM] Wregas Bhanuteja | About Unusual Play

An unusual thing was a game for Wregas Bhanuteja. Just look at how he works and distributes his films. The cinema language spoken by Wregas often questions the same thing. Questions about the prevalence of humans who live in a cycle. Wregas guerrilla outside the round. Even the way he lives in the film world. Wregas chose an unusual path, traveling around world film festivals to convey his message as broadly as possible. The long road to peace and acceptance

It is not kibul if many people see Wregas as one of the most skilled directors in character building in his films. We believe that when we meet Wregas at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Palmerah, West Jakarta, Wednesday, February 12. At exactly 12 o'clock, the sun was churning directly overhead, as Wregas emerged from one corner of the Sisi Gallery and greeted the five of us one by one.

Not only greetings, Wregas also asked many questions about us. Wregas has a passion for deepening the people he meets. Doesn't feel like lip service. In fact, we suspect that there is a large library of human characters in Wregas' head, which he is ready to mix into a story in one of his films. It's nothing, Wregas clearly understands human psychology.

This understanding makes Wregas a filmmaker who has the sensitivity to sniff out contradictory themes with human life in general. Wregas' works consistently play with the prevalence of human life by lifting the irregularities into the film. Call it the 2014 short film, Lemantun. Through this film, Wregas tells the story of a wardrobe which is a legacy for a family.

Or Prenjak (In the Year of Monkey). The film that won the award for Best Short Film at Semaine de la Critique, Cannes, in 2016. In Prenjak, Wregas tells the story of Diah (Rosa Sinegar), a woman who lives as a single parent by selling matchsticks to her male friend, Jarwo. (Yohanes Budyambara). The Rp10 thousand matchstick was used by Jarwo to peek at Diah's vagina, which was straddling under the labor table.

Even with his last release entitled Nothing Crazy in This Town. The film, starring Oka Antara (Marwan) and Sekar Sari, can be called a harsh criticism of humanity. As many call Prenjak a tragic poem for women. However, one common thread that cannot be denied is that the three of them raise human life that is far from common. The common thread that Wregas calls "games".

"In my opinion, this is all a form of behavior or behavior that humans have never done in their daily lives, that is something that is outside the norm, I see. Something that is out of the ordinary. Now, I call something outside that is a game. A game. To question, what is normal, what is called a normal order or everyday human behavior, is that something good? I want to question that, by offering a form of games. like in my films. "

Wregas Bhanuteja

If there is another common thread that links each of Wregas' works, it is acceptance. As well as insinuating the prevalence, Wregas' films often mean sincerity or acceptance. This value has been closely carried by Wregas since he was impressed by the 2002 film Hero released by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The film, starring the legendary actor Jet Li, taught Wregas the values of acceptance and peace.

The value of acceptance that Zhang Yimou displayed was harmonious with the person of Wregas who grew up in the middle of Javanese culture. This value then influences the text messages and the moral flush that Wregas often expresses in his works. Lembusura, Lemantun, and Prenjak, according to Wregas, are forms of acceptance of conditions that cannot be changed.

"Well, this acceptance is probably what I took. How come I get the same slice as my culture in Java, where there is the term 'nerimo'. 'Nerimo' means accept. Accept all conditions and let go and live the day ahead with acceptance. . "

"Lembusura, it is acceptance of the catastrophic ash rain caused by volcanic eruptions. Lemantun is acceptance when she is the only one who cannot bring home her mother's inheritance. And Prenjak is a form of acceptance when the mother has to support her child alone without a husband. form of acceptance.

Get into film

Not only moral values about acceptance. Hero also provides a new perspective for Wregas about film. That Hollywood formulation is not everything. It is nothing. Before Hero, Wregas admitted that his viewing references were only Hollywood films. The father is a figure credited with introducing Wregas with a fresh perspective on Asian films.

Hero, in the eyes of Wregas, is a treat that contains deep thoughts and a very strong story. In addition, Wregas considered Zhang Yimou successful in presenting a very charming artistic aspect through a colossal film set in the Chinese Empire. A treat that is not only special, but also drives Wregas' desire to dive into film production.

"From then on, I began to have a new perspective that the film did not always have to be like the previous formulas offered by Hollywood. There are other formulas that can be used as well. One of them is offered by Zhang Yimou in the Hero film. interested in exploring the speech style or cinema language is this Zhang Yimou. "

Wregas Bhanuteja

He made Wregas debut as a director when he was still in the second grade of SMA Kolese De Britto, Yogyakarta. At that time, Wregas made a film called Muffler. In 2009, the film was even competed nationally at a film festival entitled "Tawuran" organized by the Konfiden Foundation (Independent Film Community). Since then, Wregas has realized that film is his life.

"That's where I felt like I wanted to, like I thought I wanted to do more in the film. It seems like this is one area that I'm fussing about is okay. I put in a lot of my time, it's something that doesn't matter."

Wregas Bhanuteja

Wregas serious about deepening his work by entering the Faculty of Film and Television, the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ). Despite his parents' opposition, Wregas has proven that he is on the right track. At film school, Wregas matured.

Without discouraging filmmakers who don't eat film school. However, as stated by Wregas, film schools provide a lot of added value for anyone who wants to pursue the image and sound processing industry. The added value that is meant clearly is the curriculum. The curriculum is a ladder that leads every principal in a film school to explore cinema and the various things that accompany it.

From historical, philosophical, psychological, to various technical contents. In addition, the ecosystem that is built automatically in film schools is also a factor that greatly helps the career development of a filmmaker at a professional level.

"What we might be able to do now as film students and people studying film, of course, is play around with all that history, with that theory. Take it, pick it, then modify it, make a twist with the aesthetic or mindset that we think is suitable. with us."

Wregas Bhanuteja

To the festival

It's not just a matter of theme. Wregas' unusualness was also manifested through his choice of giving a message via a short film. The choice that brings Wregas to festival stages, both local and international. He won various awards. In addition to Prenjak's success in Cannes, Lemantun also won the 2015 Maya Cup trophy for Selected Short Story Film.

As discussed above, since debuting through Muffler, Wregas has chosen the festival path. At the international level, the first festival that Wregas participated in was the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in 2015. At that time, the film that Wregas participated in was Lembusura. Festival after festival was accompanied by a warm welcome towards his work, pushing Wregas' spirit to an even more powerful point. Flying hours made mental honed.

On the distribution side, the film festival provides an opportunity for Wregas to convey messages - which are conveyed through films - to the widest possible audience. Apart from that, the film festival also gave an impression of Wregas and his work. Important things that need to be nurtured to maintain productivity in the film industry.

"As for me, mentally, of course I am getting more and more excited and of course I want to make more films and work more. But, from the point of view of film distribution and the strategy for making the next film, the festival is very helpful."

"For the first, our work is increasingly recognized by producers around the world, be it from France, Germany, Italy, America, so that they also have knowledge of our existence as a director and his works. And open up opportunities for them to work together. or co-producing for my next feature film project. "

The five sentences behind are important keywords related to Wregas' steps forward. Currently, Wregas admits that he is preparing his first feature film project. Without elaborating, Wregas said the project was still in the process of being drafted. A debut to look forward to. Not only for movie lovers, but also for Wregas himself.

Search for peace

That's the film for Wregas. For him, films can be used as a tool of criticism, can also be a funnel for argument or simply a medium for telling stories, entertaining or as a development of another work of art. Each filmmaker has the freedom to decide which path to take. Freedom is as free as the road that Wregas takes to interpret a film.

"If a sculptor is a sculpture, I see, he has a chisel and the raw material for making his statue can be marble, it can be clay, it can be a stone he finds in a river. It is also like a film. The tools are clear. Audio and visual. But, just come back to what we want to shape, what we want to chisel from the tool. "

Wregas Bhanuteja

For Wregas himself, film is a very personal and spiritual thing. The film teaches Wregas various facts about the complexities of life. In dealing with films, for Wregas, it is to explore life that day by day tests perspectives as well as trying various meanings. So, exploration in the medium of film, for Wregas is a search for peace.