Jakarta, IO – The press conference for the 100% Manusia Film Festival was successfully held at the Italian Cultural Center (Istituto Italiano di Cultura Jakarta) in Menteng, Central Jakarta. This seventh edition will feature 65 films from 18 different countries, with human rights (HAM) as this year’s topic, and will take place in three major Indonesian cities: Jakarta, Bekasi, and Yogyakarta. Entry is complementary: free for all.
“As an independent festival, it is an honor to be in our seventh year. Hence, we chose ‘Shake and Roll’ to be this year’s theme,” said Kurnia Dwijayanto, Director of the 2023 100% Manusia Film Festival. “We wish to ask and invite more people to stay strong and focused on spreading awareness on human rights issues, particularly during the transition from pandemic to new normal, let alone welcoming the national election,” he added.
The new program, “100% STMJ” (Shorts Term Memory of Joy), will present young filmmakers with film educational backgrounds and exhibit their highly-crafted short films that they idealistically produce. The 100% Manusia Film Festival addresses a variety of human rights and social issues through its 100% Life in Motion, 100% Homemade, and 100% Local Flavors features.
One of the films showing at the festival is Senandung Senyap, a 2023 short documentary about an inspiring deaf artist. Senandung Senyap has appeared in film festivals around the world, including the Bengaluru International Short Films Festival (India) and the Show Me Shorts New Zealand Indonesia Innovation Focus (New Zealand). One of the aims of the festival is to open a safe and comfortable space to freely express ideas and opinions, which will be followed by a series of discussions on the issues related to the films. The talks at the festival will be attended by film activists, experts, filmmakers, and NGOs and allow the audience to ask questions and elaborate stories with the speakers and other audience members.
The 2023 Silver Bear trophy winner at the 2023 Berlinale Film event, the Spanish film “20,000 Species of Bees,” will start this year’s festival. The film, directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, tells the story of an 8-year-old child’s search for her identity. The festival will conclude with Canadian film Riceboy Sleeps, directed by Anthony Sim, which depicts a single mother and Korean immigrant’s struggle to adjust their lives in Canada. The film won the Platform Prize at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The public can watch this film for free at the Goethe Institut on the festival’s closing night.
Miriam Antognazza and Maurizio Fantoni, Italian cinema archivists and documentary film directors, will participate as festival guests, and share their knowledge of film archiving in the 100% DIY: Film Archive program on Monday, October 2, 2023, at 2.30 p.m. at the SAE Institute, South Jakarta, and Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 1.30 p.m. at the Jakarta Arts Institute, Jakarta Center.
Participants can register for free through the links on social media and the 100% Manusia Film Festival website.
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The 100% Manusia Film Festival offline screenings will be held at cultural centers in Jakarta, including the Institut Français d’Indonésie (IFI) Thamrin, Goethe-Institut Indonesien, Istituto Italiano di Cultura Jakarta, Erasmus Huis, and the Austrian Embassy Hall. The offline screenings will also present a large outdoor screen, 100% LAYTAN program at Summarecon Mall Bekasi and the Goethe-Institut Indonesien.
The audience can also join the 2023 100% Manusia Film Festival for free at the IFI/Indonesian French Institute Yogyakarta from September 30 to October 8, 2023, with visitors registering as members in the screening area before purchasing tickets, seeing films, or participating in other festival events. (des/ast)