COMMUNITY FORUM
FILM COMMUNITIES AND HOW TO BENEFIT THE CHANCES
Said Nurhidayat, Arief A. Yani, Aulia Rizky
Tracing back its history, the euphoria of the emerging film festivals in Indonesia is considered as the third-wave period (the 2000s). One distinguishing characteristic of this third-wave period is marked by the gathering of the film society along with the flourish of independent film productions. Since 2006, JAFF has been declaring itself as a community-based film festival in Yogyakarta by providing its audience a particular program called Forum Komunitas (Community Forum). The historical chronicles of film communities in Indonesia are recorded by Rumah Sinema and Journal Footage through their writings full of meanings.
The last few years, film communities have been sporadically halted to break away from the “mainstream” film production houses. Instead, they chose to produce short films, documentaries, as well as their own film festivals across cities in Indonesia. They even submitted their best creations to international film festivals. Fortunately, with the presence of digital technology, spaces for alternative screenings become bigger. These spaces bring together the experiences of, not only merely watching and enjoying, but also distributing.
The annual agenda of Presentasi Komunitas (Community Presentation) is always made to be present so that the networking between communities could be built effectively through various social media platforms. As it is a free space to share experiences, more and more people are attracted each year to participate and to listen to the new stories of different experiences which could be reflected together into each other’s life or situation. Younger generations of the communication revolution are believed to be the true agents of change in a bigger dimension.
This creates a new challenge to translate creativity to the bleeding-edge digital platforms. In other words, these filmmakers are also required to observe and truly comprehend the digital market’s taste other than just simply delivering their own voices to the crowd. Through the program LA Indie Movie Meet Up With The Expert ‘Short Movie in Digital Platform’, the audience are invited to open their mind to get to know or even improve their own skills on digital content designing strategies with the integration to social media platforms.
Globalization, lifestyle fragmentations, consumerism, deregulation of money and public infrastructures, as well as old country regulations and the romanticizing of the glorious old traditions are phenomena in response to the current social situation as a product of information technology advancement. They are present as forms of appreciations to other factors (traditions and other subjects of spirituality) which have been swept away by rationalism, structuralism, and secularism. Such topic will be put into comprehensive discourses by Engage Media.
Moreover, it is a completely different experience to put the films and their audience into the same room. The audience’s comments on the films they are watching will summon particular atmospheres into the whole room. It is very unlikely to see a room called Film Critics at mainstream cinemas. In Indonesia, it is considered as an uncommon discourse, and is limited only to the scholars or the technical people. Ironically, the audience’s critics have never been, if not seldom, taken into serious considerations, even a mere chance to be within the discourse. The next question would be whether JAFF’s effort of inviting the film critics is a good step and could really open more accesses for the audience to voice each of their concerns. Do come to find the answer of this one interesting question.
Forum Komunitas (Community Forum) will also be back with “Pingpong Fun Competition” as a form of time-killer before the scheduled films star. “Pingpong Fun Competition” tries to break away the festival euphoria into a more relaxed and fun atmosphere by strengthening the bond between the committee persons, the communities, and the festival visitors.
Greetings from the communities.
IKHTISAR KOMUNITAS FILM DAN MEMBACA PELUANG
Said Nurhidayat, Arief A. Yani, Aulia Rizky
Melacak sejarahnya, euforia kehadiran komunitas film di Indonesia sekarang ini dapat dikatakan sebagai gelombang yang ketiga (era 2000-an). Keunikan fenomena pada gelombang ketiga ini terletak pada bertemunya apa yang disebut gerakan masyarakat film atau Film Society dengan didukung adanya gerakan film independen. Sejak tahun 2006 JAFF menyatakan diri sebagai festival film yang berbasis komunitas film di Jogjakarta dengan menggelar Forum Komunitas. Bentuk-bentuk pencatatan sejarah perkembangan komunitas film Indonesia dilakukan oleh Rumah Sinema dan Journal Footage melalui tulisan-tulisannya yang sarat akan makna.
Beberapa tahun belakangan hadir secara sporadis berbagai komunitas film yang bebas bergerak dan tidak terikat dengan industri perfilman “mainstream”. Mereka membuat film pendek, film dokumenter, hingga festival film diberbagai kota di Indonesia. Bahkan, mereka mengirim karya-karyanya ke festival film skala internasional. Banyaknya ruang-ruang pemutaran alternatif kini semakin dijembatani dengan kehadiran teknologi digital. Tak sekedar menonoton tetapi juga mendistribusikan film.
Agenda rutin Presentasi Komunitas juga selalu dihadirkan untuk membangun jaringan antar komunitas melalui media sosial. Ajang bertukar pengalaman menjadi ketertarikan kami setiap tahunnya, karena akan ada cerita baru yang dapat direfleksikan bersama. Generasi yang dipengaruhi oleh dampak revolusi komunikasi diyakini telah membawa perubahan dalam dimensi luas.
Sehingga, kecakapan dalam berkarya di platform digital menjadi tantangan baru. Alhasil, pembuat film saat ini tidak hanya dituntut mampu menyampaikan pesan melalui medium film tetapi juga membaca penonton di pasar digital. Melalui LA Indie Movie Meet Up With The Expert ‘Short Movie in Digital Platform’ akan membuka pemahaman, kemampuan serta membangun strategi pengelolaan konten digital dengan integrasinya terhadap media sosial.
Fenomena yang merupakan respon pada situasi dan tata sosial produk teknologi informasi, seperti globalisasi, fragmentasi gaya hidup, konsumerisme yang berlebihan, deregulasi pasar uang dan sarana publik, usangnya regulasi negara serta penggalian kembali inspirasi-inspirasi tradisi. Hal ini secara singkat ingin menghargai faktor lain (tradisi dan spiritualitas) yang dihilangkan oleh rasionalisme, strukturalisme dan sekularisme, kemudian disoroti oleh Engage Media.
Lain lagi dengan pengalaman menarik ketika mempertemukan film dengan penontonnya. Sekelumit celoteh penonton terhadap film yang diputarkan memberikan nuansa yang berbeda. Satu hal yang jarang ditemui dari kebiasaan menonton di bioskop mainstream yaitu adanya ruang kritik film. Di Indonesia dialektika semacam ini hanya dimiliki oleh kalangan tertentu yang ukurannya bisa berdasarkan nilai-nilai akademis, maupun pengalaman teknis. Mirisnya, kritik dari penonton aslinya nyaris tidak pernah diangkat dan diberikan kesempatan. Lantas, apakah JAFF yang mendatangkan pakar kritik ini mampu menjawab keresahan penonton untuk sebatas menilai sebuah film dapat dinyatakan ‘bagus’? Kita akan bertemu dan menjawab pertanyaan tersebut bersama-sama.
Forum Komunitas juga kembali menghadirkan “Pingpong Fun Competition” sembari menunggu jam menonton film. “Pingpong Fun Competition” mencoba mencairkan suasana hiruk pikuk festival untuk lebih santai dan fun dengan bekal keakraban antar panitia, komunitas dan pengunjung festival sehingga program ini terjalin hangat.
Salam Komunitas.