On the seventh day of JAFF20, a quietly striking scene unfolded. As the night grew late and several screening rooms at Empire XXI Yogyakarta began to empty, Studio 1 told a different story: a long queue stretched deep into the lobby area. Those waiting were audiences queuing to enter the Cinematic Concert to enjoy White Shoes & The Couples Company (WSATCC) live performance inside the cinema. The line was a mix of people from various ages, living proof that WSATCC remains a legendary musical presence whose appeal effortlessly crosses generations.
The Cinematic Concert has long been one of JAFF’s most anticipated programs, and this year it offered a layered experience by pairing a screening of the documentary White Shoes & The Couples Company di Cikini (Henry Foundation, 2016) with an intimate live performance by the band itself. The 84-minute documentary served as a gateway, inviting the audience to trace the group’s artistic journey while reconstructing personal memories of their first encounters with WSATCC’s music. Shot with a raw visual texture yet guided by a confident narrative flow, the film seems deliberately designed to place viewers in close proximity to the band’s path—following their early steps since 2002 at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ) in Cikini, Jakarta.
As the documentary faded, the members of WSATCC took over the studio stage. Cheers erupted despite the late hour. Through their performance, they brought to life the spirit of Indonesian music from the 1960s–1970s, channeled through their signature sound. A refined blend of jazz and classic pop, wrapped in stories of everyday youth, unfolded with graceful precision and was met with sustained applause. Thirteen songs were performed, culminating in an encore that drew the audience from their seats to dance alongside “The Cikini Finest.”
Vocalist Aprilia Apsari shared that the evening marked a meaningful meeting point between musical art and the film industry. She noted that this was far from WSATCC’s first encounter with cinema. “Our relationship with film has always been very close. Beyond our roots at IKJ, our very first debut was in the film Janji Joni (Joko Anwar, 2005),” Aprilia explained.
During the night’s performance, WSATCC also incorporated excerpts from Cinta Pertama (Teguh Karya, 1973) as visual backdrops on stage. Through this gesture, the band expressed their hope that opportunities for music and cinema to continue intersecting will remain wide open—particularly within film festivals such as the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, where such creative synergies are actively nurtured.
Writer: Hasan Daffa ‘Abdillah
Photos: JAFF Documentation Team
