My Heroine in TV Series

It's no secret that although I am a movie buff, I'm actually a TV Junkie since I was little. I even learned to understand English through watching the Star Trek TV Series back in the 70's, even before I could really read the Bahasa Indonesia subtitles. I tend to forget about the rest of the world when I watch this magic box. I think that's how I could be even more focus watching film in the cinema. So by the 90's, it's a custom for me to guess correctly the production year of a movie by simply paying attention to details, like the music score, the actor/actress, the way the story was told, the way the film was made, etc. So it's no wonder how the TV Shows has a huge impact on me, even until now.

In the 90's there's this TV Show that I used to watch called Sisters, it's about 4 sisters life and how they overcome their daily life problem. One of the actress became my favourite, Sela Ward, as this character, Teddy, who's the bohemian one. The one scene that was stuck in my mind was when one of the sister is thinking about committed suicide and Teddy told her sister, that she was also once thought about committed suicide a few years back. The reason why she didn't do it is because she catch a good movie in TV and decided to watch it first. After the movie was over, there's another good movie starts, she decided to watch it and keep on doing it movies after movies. She ended up not go through with the suicide. "There's always be a good movie come along, just like in life," that's what she said more or less. Now I could still catch her  as Jo in the TV Series CSI NY, whose work is driven by her empathy for the victim who also adopted a little girl who is the daughter of convicted junkie.

I also love Dana Delany who is now becoming the leading role in the TV Series Body of Proof as a forensic doctor. She used to work as surgeon doctor who lost a patient during the surgery she performed, it forced her to become a forensic doctor being as a single mother. I saw her first in China Beach, a TV Series about the nurse working in a hospital during the Vietnam war in 60's. But you may knew her as the lunatic Katherine from the Desperate Housewife. There's something about the way she make her statement in any character she played, it's always effortless and gracefully sassy. She always choose to play in a character who is bold no matter how difficult the under pressure situation the character is in.

Another heroine I love is Gillian Anderson who I first discovered in the cult TV Series X-Files. I like how her character as Agent Scully is totally logic and believe in the fact as the extreme opposite of Agent Fox, something that was not the stereotype like many duo man-woman leading roles TV Series during that time. When I saw her again in both Hannibal and The Fall TV Series, I soon discovered how she has this smart and magnetic coolness in every role she played. You may catch her again during the upcoming reboot of the X-Files series scheduled release in 2016.

The new character that I love is Jessica King (played by Amy Price-Francis) in King TV Series from Canada. As the leading role is the cop boss who juggling in between her busy work as a detective of major crime and a wife of a gamble addict patrol police with another sergeant co-worker under her who was once have a short affair with her. I love how her character remain really chic with high heels and a feminine posture with assertive gesture.

To sum it up, I could say that I love a strong-driven character women leading role in TV Series, but mainly those who could remain their own persona in bringing the character alive. These characters have live and inspiring me the most as my TV Series heroine.


at home, 6 June 2015, 11:44 am

The Indonesian Short Film Guardian

When I first enter the film world, I literally knew nothing about it so I had to just 'learning by doing'. My first work was organising a film festival and it became what I do for a living up till now. And at the same time I discovered my passion towards short film. As I worked and organised short film festivals, it's hard not to meet Gotot Prakosa. He was like the guardian of the Indonesian short film, especially animation. Well, actually he was an all around filmmaker, from animation, documentary to fiction and most of all, experimental. He teach animation, wrote film books, painted lots of painting, organised film festival, making films. He even done lots of work that crossed in between film, theatre play, painting, music and art performance.

As my first home in film was the film community, Gotot Prakosa was the closest to a mentor for me in the Indonesian short film scene. We were not really close but our love for the cinema has always turned our path to cross every now and then. And that was his legacy to me. If all his life he could survive 4 strokes and keep on teaching, writing, film making, doing all film related activities, I should keep on moving until the end.

Thank you for your work and huge contribution to the Indonesian cinema...

The last 5 years...

it's been a while, I know... Let see if I could sum up the last 5 years of my life into a very short story.

I am still working in film festival. After the Europe on Screen (2007-2011), I involved in a project called DocNet Southeast Asia (2012-2014), where I co-organised workshops, seminars and film festivals of Southeast Asian docs "ChopShots". Both festivals held in Jakarta in 2002 & 2014, while the rest were held in different cities in the Southeast Asian countries. So many new friends and new experiences I found during this 2,5 years period. From witnessing the birth of documentaries to the birth of "DocNet Babies" (we use it for the babies who were born during this period of project).

After the project finished last year, I worked for the selection team of Apresiasi Film Indonesia/AFI (held by the Education Ministry) and organising their film festival workshop in 3 cities (Jakarta, Bandung and Medan) with COFFIE (Coordination on Film Festival in Indonesia), which established since 2012. Just like many activist, it's obvious that we breed organisations and communities, like the flowers bloom in Spring (only in 4 seasons countries , of course).

After AFI, I also worked for the other festival roadshow in 7 cities (Serang, Bandung, Malang, Purbalingga, Padang, Bengkulu. Jambi) as the pre-event of Festival Film Indonesia/FFI in Palembang. And then there was this promise of another festival in Bali, so I was also in Denpasar for the Forum Group Discussion of the local film community in Bali as the preparation of the festival. Well, it's still just a promise now...

I also lost my mother in law in 2011 and my father in 2013. My mother in law death was a shock since she lived in Sumedang, while we're in Jakarta. I was quiet close with her since I knew her in 2005. I think I was more similar with her then with my husband. As for my father, he was healthy for most of his life for 77 years  and even got really sick only 1 month before he passed away. I will share some of my poetries about them in here later.

2015 is about slowing down. I have no job for almost 4 months. So I start making and selling the clothes, especially for men and tomboy women. I put a hold on my beads jewellery making, since I'm really into fabric now. The fact that I could not sew, did not put down my passion in this cloth design. I was at one point in my life, long time ago, dreamt to be a fashion designer, before ended up become the film festival organiser.

Anyway, it's really nice to finally have a short break and writing something here. I may or may not continue writing in this blog. We shall see...

at home, 1st of June, 2015, 6.28 pm