By Sara Stokoe
Indonesian filmmaker Sekar Aya Asmara explores the freedom that spurred from the downfall of the country's previous dictatorship.
Additional research by Shirley Hsu
The Stringless Violin
Running time: 97 minutes
Director: Sekar Aya Asmara
Producers: Sekar Ayu Asmara, Seto Harjojudanto, Nia Di Nata, Afi Shamara
Cast: Ria Irawan, Nicholas Saputra, Jajang C. Noer
Premier Date: March 22, 2003
Country: Indonesia
The Stringless Violin, by Sekar Aya Asmara, is the story of a 30 year-old woman, Renjani, who starts her life anew by moving to the city of Jakarta where she has inherited a home, which she then turns into an orphanage for multiple handicapped children who have been abandoned by their parents.
Eight year old Dewa is one of her orphans. He is mute, has brain defects and autistic tendencies. Renjani develops a special love for this particular boy and she believes that he feels and understands the love she has for him. She then becomes obsessed with finding the therapy that will cure him of his ills.
When she meets a young violinist, named Bhisma, she believes she has found the key to the future of Dewa, but Renjani's traumatic past still haunts her. She turns away from Bhisma's love and disaster looms near.
According to the film's production company, Kalyana Shira Film, "The Stringless Violin is a metaphor for the multiple- handicapped babies. Furthermore, it also symbolizes the many souls that have been scarred by love. And the many souls that have never known the meaning of love.”
The Director/Producer
Asmara was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, but she has traveled extensively, having once lived in Afghanistan, Turkey and the Netherlands. She did not formally study film, rather she was self-taught. She began her career by producing video clips and local television programs. Sekar is not only a filmmaker but she is also an accomplished songwriter (which may be why she incorporates music into her film) as well as a painter and an author of a children's book.
Indonesia's Film Industry
In 1998, after more than three decades of oppressing dictatorship, Suharto stepped down from power in Indonesia and the reformation began. There was a new sense of freedom which led to inspire creativity and many believe that nothing represents this sense of empowerment better than Indonesia's budding independent film industry.
Filmmaker Lulu Ratna says that the country never had a powerful visual tradition. "We have an oral tradition and usually Indonesian films use a lot of narration."
Under the oppressive Suharto regime, the film industry faced tough censorship laws and as a result very few local films made it to the theaters. Only heavily cut Hollywood blockbusters dominated the industry domestically. But after the end of Suharto's rule the youth seemed to find a creative outlet in film. The Indonesian Independent Film Community (KONFIDEN) was a major catalyst of the country's independent film movement.
While young filmmakers and directors no longer suffer censorship, they face new challenges as they continue under the constraints of a lack of resources and funding: “There's no funding. The equipment they can rent for half price or borrow from someone,” says filmmaker Lulu Ratna. But this hasn't shut the creativity down and this year, we may actually see an Indonesian film nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category.
Published: Friday, January 23, 2004
