Indonesian Short Film 'Prenjak' Receives Warm Welcome in Cannes
Jakarta. "Prenjak, in the Year of the Monkey," a short film by Yogyakarta-based director Wregas Bhanuteja, premiered at the Miramar theater in Cannes, France, on Sunday (15/05).
"Prenjak," a title taken from a type of bird, was shown along with French shorts "Lenfance dun Chef" by Antoine de Bary and "Le Soldat Vierge" by Erwan Le Duc, Greek short "Limbo" by Konstantina Kotzamani, Canadian short "Oh What a Wonderful Feeling" by Francois Jaros and Hungarian short "Superbia" by Luca. The short by Wregas is set in his hometown and runs for 12 minutes. It is now running in La Semaine de la Critique, or the International Critics' Week competition, which grants 4,000 euros ($4,523) to the winning director.
"Prenjak" follows a story that took place in Yogyakarta in the 80s, when a matches seller named Diah allowed her customer to see a part of her body.
Wregas told Antara state news agency he is relieved to see 300 guests at the Sunday premiere responded well to his short film. The director caught a lot of laughs from the audience, which signals the film's ability to communicate well with the audience.
"I was worried because there were so many guests who were going to see my film, and wondering if they would be able to accept Javanese tradition," he said.
Wregas told Jakarta Globe that he enjoys making short films. Last year, Wregas won best short film at the 21 Short Film Festival in Jakarta for "Lemantun," a short film that he made as a final assignment to graduate from Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ) in 2014.
"Making a short film is like sharing my own thoughts and emotions to my friends," he said.
He applies a different approach to every project. "Prenjak" and "Lemantun" are both inspired by true stories from Yogyakarta. His other short film, "The Floating Chopin," which recently screened at the Hong Kong Film Festival, kicked off production with no final script in hand.
Participating in international film festivals is a privilege, but the director said distribution is a huge problem to handle for most short filmmakers. As cinema is no longer an option, except for special occasions, Wregas said there should be a support system to help works by aspiring filmmakers be seen by public.
"We need a proper online distribution to get our works recognized across the globe," he said.
Wregas is currently working on his feature debut.
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