Rizal Malik's Blog
My stories, my thoughts, my world.

Breakfast with Nan.

I had breakfast with Nan Achnas on Friday. Nan is a well-known Indonesian film director, and a long time personal friend of mine. She started her career with short documentaries and TV commercials. She got her first award from Japan film festival for her documentary in mid 90s. Then she went to the broad screen in a joint project with three other directors, “Kuldesak”. Got a good appreciation from film critics, although I don’t think it is successful commercially.

Nan solo feature was “Pasir Berbisik” (The Whispering Sands), which I think successful both artistically and commercially. It is about mother-daughter relationships with a complex psychological turn and twist. It was shot in Mount Bromo. A wonderful landscape that produces a fascinating pictures. Pasir Berbisik was screened in Rotterdam and other film festivals. It got the Best Cinematography Award and Jury Special Award for the New Promising Director in 2001 Asia Pacific Film Festival. Her latest project is “The Photograph” in 2007. A story about an old photographer, which I found too dark to my taste. When I told her my two cents critic to the Photograph, she laughed and said that her mother also think that way. So she promised her mother to make a much “happier” film in the future.

We knew each other when we got The British Chevening fellowship in 1994. Both of us went to the University of East Anglia. Nan took the literature courses in the program under Malcolm Bradbury. Then, the Queen’s Poet. While I took Development Studies in the school founded by Andre Gunder-Frank.

We haven’t met for years. The two meetings that we have post-Norwich were a short encounters. One in front of Kinokuniya bookstore about two or three years a go, and the other one was in TIM’s parking lot a few months a go. So, we agreed to meet and to have a serious conversation that morning.

We talk about many things. Our good old time in Norwich. Our mutual friends. About the future of Indonesia, and my favorite topic: corruption. We both think that Indonesian education is not given enough emphasis to integrity and creativity. Although I am more inclined to structural causes of corruption rather than a cultural one, I am in agreement with Nan that we really have to start anti-corruption education from a younger age. We recalled our own education at home that emphasizing values like honesty, justice, and respect for other people rights. We think that Indonesian education has become too commercialized, and make pupils strive for a good score, rather than on knowledge and character.

In the end of our conversation, we agreed to have a joint project in using film medium for anti-corruption education to primary school children. It will be 12 short films of 6 to 10 minutes each. The film can be screened individually, followed by discussion or other educational activities, or screened as integrated 90-100 minutes film. We planned to mobilize a score of talented young film directors to direct each segment. Through the film, the young audience will be facilitated to discover values of integrity, rather than spoon-fed by adult in typical lectures at school.

I am fascinated with the project, and I do hope that we can find enough funding to start the project soon.

2007-12-23 12:18:25 GMT

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