Film Documentary Pembuatan GWK Karya Nyoman Nuarta Tayang Perdana Di Vancouver International Film Festival 2023

Photo: Special

Sculpting The Giant is the first long documentary by the production house Seeds Motion from Bandung, directed by the young director duo, Banu Wirandoko and Rheza Arden Wiguna. Seeds Motion in collaboration with Global Film Solutions Indonesia, Phiwedari Indonesian Film Distribution and Focused Equipment, brought Sculpting The Giant to the front of Indonesian audience and the inaugural world at the Vancouver International Film Festival 2023.

Sculpting The Giant tells the story of the struggle of an Indonesian speaker, Nyoman Nuarta in making one of the largest statues in the world; Garuda Wisnu Kencana. This film presents an unprecedented point of view from the journey of the creation of Garuda Wisnu Kencana which took up to 28 years. Sculpting The Giant is a documentary full of family, political and business intrigue; it is told in beautiful cinematography by cinematographer and editor Dini Aristya and original scoring by the music engineer Bintang Rajasawardhana.

"Our first film is the longest production we have ever experienced, 7 years including passing 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. The premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival is a bright spot and makes our hard work paid off. Of course, what we really want is for this film to be released in Indonesia," said Maulana Aziz, producer of Sculpting The Giant, in his statement, Sunday, September 17.

The Vancouver International Film Festival is an event that has been going on for 41 editions which began in 1982. This film festival is one of the most prestigious events in the world and has been a place for Indonesian films to get international achievements such as Eliana, Eliana, directed by Riri Riza who won Dragons and Tigers Special Mention in 2002, Yuni (2021), Athirah (2019), and Gie (2005). Among the films from Indonesia that had been selected, Sculpting The Giant became one of the pioneers of the Indonesian long documentary film which was successfully selected to be screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

"Actually, I was a bit surprised to hear that Sculpting The Giant was chosen to be shown in Vancouver, especially since this is our first film, so we don't believe that the film can get stuck at big festivals like VIFF. So we're just happy to go lucky," said the director, Rheza Arden Wiguna.

Meanwhile, Banu Wirandoko Banu added, the screening of STG in Vancouver is good news for the production crew who have worked on this film for years.

"Finally, Sculpting The Giant was officially released and aired at a film festival, it seems like our imagination used to be when we were in the sun-sanding of Bali and dreamed of creating a work that can be recognized by the world is now a reality," he said.

At the end of 2019, Banu, Rheza, and the team had just completed the initial editing process when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. All post-production processes stop and Seeds Motion focuses on finding ways to survive during the pandemic.

"I thought about giving up and not continuing the post-production process of Sculpting The Giant, but every time we wanted to give up we thought twice, because we had spent time and energy and also the efforts of many parties. Slowly we collected money and time to complete the post-production process. Inspired by Nyoman Nuarta's struggle to complete a masterpiece, we really felt how difficult it was to keep the spirit to finish the work that had taken years. And this is not even a quarter of the time that Nyoman Nuarta went through in completing the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue, "said Aziz.

"With this film, we want to show that not all good things must be achieved instantly, even the best things sometimes require a very long time sacrifice. This is a reminder for ourselves not to be complacent and just want to be satisfied by something that comes quickly. We hope that people in Indonesia can immediately see the film Sculpting The Giant Indonesia. We are waiting for the results of the selection of several festivals in Indonesia and Southeast Asia and after that Sculpting The Giant will air and hopefully get a good appreciation for film lovers in Indonesia," concluded Aziz.

Sculpting The Giant will premiere in the Vancouver International Film Festival series which will be held from September 28 to October 8, 2023 and will be the only feature feature feature film from Indonesia to be shown at the international film event.