Released at the End of the Year, Nona Manis Sayange Presents the Natural Beauty and Culture of Labuan Bajo

Cast and producer of Nona Manis Sayange (Ivan Two Putra/VOI)

JAKARTA - The PUTAAR Film production house is preparing to present a comedy-drama film entitled Nona Manis Sayange. This film directed by Hestu Saputra will present the natural beauty of Labuan Bajo and the culture in it.

DR Ngadiman as the executive producer of PUTAAR Film said that he was inspired to make a film about the beauty of Labuan Bajo. He sees Labuan Bajo as an attractive tourist destination to highlight its beauty in films.

“Labuan Bajo is one of the best locations in Indonesia. Its beauty is very enchanting and has become the concern of many domestic and foreign tourists," said DR Ngadiman during a press conference in Kemang, South Jakarta on Thursday, July 27.

Not only nature, but Ngadiman also said that the film Nona Manis Sayange will raise one of the customs of the Bajo people, belis, which is a dowry as one of the requirements before the Bajo tribe gets married.

“One of the problems is belis (dowry). This is an interesting phenomenon because it cannot be separated from the people there," said Ngadiman.

“There are many people who cannot get married because of belis. But it doesn't mean belis is bad. In this film, we will describe this problem," he continued.

Meanwhile, Mathias Muchus, a senior actor who played in Nona Manis Sayange, said that this film would be very interesting. He said that locality would always be interesting to feature in films.

“Local films have their own uniqueness and sexiness to show. I think local values are interesting things to sell," he continued.

Apart from Mathias Muchus, the two young main actors who will be playing are Haico Van der Veken and Pangeran Lantang.

Pangeran said the filming process, which took place in 2022, was a new experience for him. Even though the terrain he faced was quite difficult, he felt acting with local co-stars who incidentally were not actors was interesting.

"Shooting in Labuan Bajo with local people, it's really interesting," said Pangeran Lantang.

Apart from the names above, Nona Manis Sayange also stars Bhisma Mulia, Chanceline Ebel, Luz Victoria, and many others.

The film Nona Manis Sayange tells the story of Sikka, a teenage girl born into a wealthy businessman family, best friends since childhood with Akram, the son of a sailor family who lives on the coast of Labuan Bajo Island. They grow together and strengthen each other through a life journey that deepens their feelings of love.

Things change when ambition and manipulation come from Sikka's father to separate them. As the son of a sailor, Akram is required by customary law to pay Belis (a traditional dowry requirement for the Manggarai tribe in Labuan Bajo) from Sikka's father, which is of fantastic value, if he wants to marry Sikka.

This did not stop Akram from retreating and continuing to fight for Sikka. On the other hand, Sikka also tries to convince his father that true love is not seen from material values or social status.

The various natural romantic beauties of Labuan Bajo can unite teenage love stories with the influence of customary and cultural norms that develop in the community.

The film Nona Manis Sayange has just released a teaser poster. This film is planned to be presented in theaters at the end of this year.