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Press Release
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CHANTS OF LOTUS
MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN BY WOMEN DIRECTORS
Jakarta, January 16, 2008
CHANTS OF LOTUS is a unique production as it is an anthology film inspired by the problems of Indonesian women. The feature film consists of four short movies, tied together with one premise: women’s state of affairs. Four Indonesian women direct the movie: Nia Dinata, Upi, Lasja F. Susatyo and Fatimah T. Rony.
CHANTS OF LOTUS takes the philosophy of lotus plant as the basic of the movie’s theme. Lotus grows elegantly despite the muddy water that surounds it. The lotus is the symbol of the women characters in the movie: even in the worst conditions they have to stand up and defend their pride. CHANTS OF LOTUS is a serious and strong response towards the conditions of many Indonesian women. CHANTS OF LOTUS presents four stories: Chant From An Island, Chant From A Tourist Town, Chant From A Village, and Chant From The Capital City.
All four stories talk about women conditions from reproductive health (cancer, HIV/AIDS), women/child trafficking, to abortion and sexuality (consciousness about women’s body and reproductive health). “The objective of the movie is to raise people’s awareness about women issues. The issues might not be new to the society but movie is a medium with its own strength to describe the real problem, to disturb the emotion, so the people who watch this movie, hopefully will be moved. A movie like Water (directed by Deepa Mehta) for example, is able to shake us and makes us realize about the bad condition of Indian widows in the 1930s when they had no rights and became beggars. The movie opens our eyes and raises our awareness about the tragic conditions of Indian women in those years. Another example is the movie Babel (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu). This movie with four sub plots provoked us on global issues, yet it feels close to our own world. The reaction of my friends and I who have kids after seeing the movie was the same: we badly wanted to come home and hug our kids. The two movies above have moved us to keep on trying to make a better world for us, now and for the future of our children. I hope CHANTS OF LOTUS can do the same, I hope it can move the people to make a difference, no matter how small it is, in their own personal capacity,” said producer Nia Dinata.
Through the four stories, all directors and scriptwriters (Vivian Idris and Melissa Karim) show that women issues are more complex than just a melodrama that many people see in the Indonesian television series. Besides the deep comprehension from the writers and directors upon the issues, each director shows her own personal touch in the movie. “I had doubts in the beginning because I never directed a movie whose script I don’t write. But after Nia said to me that we could develop the script together, I instantly agreed to join. Especially because this is a movie with women issues,” said Upi. “In this project, the directors have their own freedom to interpret the script and visualize it so the audience will see different touch in each segment,” added Lasja. Nia asked Fatimah to be on board to give different “flavor” to the movie. “As an Indonesian descendant who was born and has been living in US, this is a great opportunity given to me to contribute in Indonesian movies and talk about women issues,” said Fatimah.
This movie shows different styles, atmospheres, and life-style that really happen in the daily life of Indonesian women. Nevertheless, the movie also shows the men’s point of views through the psychological condition of the men characters in this movie. The movie is a unique collective work that will give different dramatic sensation to the audience.
CHANTS OF LOTUS presents the following main casts: Rieke Diah Pitaloka (Chant From An Island), Shanty (Chant From A Village), Kirana Larasati (Chant From A Tourist Town) and Susan Bachtiar (Chant From The Capital City). Other well-known and emerging artists also support the movie: Sarah Sechan (as a dangdut bar singer), Winky Wiryawan, Fauzi Baadila, Arswendy Nasution, Ratna Riantiarno and Tarzan.
CHANTS OF LOTUS was chosen as the closing film of JIFFEST 2007 on December 16, 2007. The movie will be released for public on January 17, 2008.
More info:
www.kalyanashira.com www.kalyanshira.com/perempuanpunyacerita www.kalyanashira.com/chantsoflotus
Publicists:
Ade Kusumaningrum – 0813 19349157
Bonnie – 0818 735075 |
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