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

So much stuff I collect

Have all these stuff filling in my home space. I just learn how to organize them. Imagine having collecting lots of stuff but you don't have any system to store it. Yup, that's me alright...

I like to collect stuff and believe me there are a lots of stuff I like to collect. From busway tickets, postcards, movie posters, stickers, you name it. All that stuff you just get without even try... I'm afraid I might have some sort of compulsive hoarding problem. That's why I determent to put an end to it. My husband Beng is the one really support me on this since the very beginning. That's why we put together a garage sale, something we might want to do regularly to get rid of our stuff to the other who might need them more than us.

I also start to a new attitude towards my stuff, slowly but sure, I throw away stuff. It's not really easy, not because I don't want to throw it away, it's more because I don't have enough time to take care of the matters on a regular based. Anyway, at least now I try to be more organized with my stuff.

There you go, a confession in the middle of hot-no rain-sunny afternoon during the rain season Jakarta...

lulu, at home, 15.07 wib, 19 September 2010

Ramadhan and everything else around it

Here I am, several months later after my writing about the new year of 2010. It's Ramadhan fasting month now. Everything seems to be the same but also different. So many things had happen during this global warming era. Natural disaster and non natural disaster are happening side by side now in my country. The earthquake and how one party repressing another on behalf of whatever excuse they could find. Unbelievable. I feel like Ramadhan it's not special anymore, because the way things happened during the first day of fasting month yesterday. I couldn't have the heart to talk about it here. Maybe it's God's will to test our patience, especially during Ramadhan, for those who experienced it or us who became the witness.

I may have not been a very religious kind of person. But I feel I should pray to God. Pray for others, pray for all of us, that something good would come out of it, no matter how bad the situation appearing now.

Amien...

lulu, cikini office, Jakarta, 12.11 wib, 12 August 2010

New Year 2010

Another year has gone by
I walk alone in my dream
walking on the beach of hope
to find your smile
to feel your smell
longing is equal with finding your love again
with new perspective through the same eyes
as the new year is coming by

lulu, at home, 10.02 wib, 3 January 2010

Take this Facebook out of me

Yes, I admit it. I wrote most of my notes on Facebook now. Of course it's in Bahasa Indonesia. But I don't really know if anybody really read my stuff here. Feel like talking to myself...and maybe the universe of virtual world hahaha...

Just quick update: so many things are happening right now. I'm writing a book about my film festival experience for the last 10 years. Am working also to support V Film Festival right now (it's a women international film festival, 21-26 April in Jakarta). Maybe start working for the European Film Festival 2009 soon.

I'm trying my best not to attach myself too much on Facebook, but in my line of work, information flow is really important and everybody's using FB now. Try to limit it by reading all the messages and everything else through the notifications they sent to my email. This way, I could just ignore the one that is not really important since FB also take a lots lots of time to open now.

Anyway, no promisses this time. Try my best to leave something behind in this blog more often.

lulu, at home, 07.20 wib, 22 April 2009: Happy Earth Day!