Director Lucky Kuswandi Talks Teen Flicks and Going Beyond Convention
Jakarta. "Film poses a question, not a statement. We as filmmakers should present issues without taking sides. We are the whisperers of the questions we want to ask," acclaimed Indonesian filmmaker Lucky Kuswandi said, revealing his golden rule.
Movie buffs and aspiring filmmakers flocked to @America cultural center at Pacific Place shopping mall in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (17/05) to gain insights from the director at a workshop titled "Making a Critically Acclaimed Teen Flick."
Lucky is no John Hughes, as his teen-flick portfolio only consists of "Galih & Ratna," a remake of 1979 film "Gita Cinta Dari SMA," which was adapted from the eponymous novel by Eddy D. Iskandar.
However, the twists he interpolated to the film resulted in generally positive reviews.
He told the audience that as a 36-year-old, his teenage days are way past him, but that it was not an excuse to render teen characters in clichés or diminish them as a narcissistic bunch with volatile emotions.
In fact, his research went as far as having a focus group of high schoolers to know more about the behaviors, trends and even power dynamics in schools.
"I was going to turn down the offer to direct "Galih & Ratna" if it was just another ordinary teen movie. There were too many of those already. What was it that I had to say about the teen life? But after some research and discussions, new themes that hadn't been explored came up," Lucky told the Jakarta Globe after the workshop.
One of the phenomena he found fascinating was how millennials are always online, not just to connect, but to climb the social ladder and make money from popularity.
"I was very interested in exploring and understand teenagers, seeing where the power lies among them and the issues. There is also difficulty to connect with people in real life though they are hyperconnected online. That's one of things that drew me to 'Galih & Ratna.'"
Taking the Formula to the Next Level
The director of "Selamat Pagi, Malam" ("In the Absence of the Sun") made the leap from normally making drama films heavy on social issues to a teen romance; from catering to a niche audience to the general market; from setting his own rules to making something that tends to be generic.
"It's actually interesting because the teen movie formula helps me to make an outline. The important thing is how to tweak the stereotypes or character archetypes but still connect them to the big theme. That is the challenge. But I was happy to do it because I got to explore a convention that everybody had used before," Lucky said.
In "Galih & Ratna," Lucky presented each teen movie archetype from the girl next door to the jock, but gave more depth to their personalities.
Moreover, the film conveyed a multitude of issues, not just adolescents in love, but also in transition as they were confronted with choices for their future.
Galih was an idealist who believed in the revival of cassettes and mixtapes, while Ratna was a pragmatist who preferred to skip songs she did not like. The former believed in wishful thinking, while the latter chose to bury her dreams due to parental issues. Opposites attracted, then brought each other down, but not without influencing each other's beliefs in the end.
"It's not a love story. It's a story about dreams," said the filmmaker, who derived influences from many, such as Pedro Almodóvar and Stanley Kubrick.
Though he was working with new actors in the leading roles, Lucky did not experience more difficulties than usual.
"To me, the important thing is not to discriminate between senior actors and newcomers. We choose them because they're right for the roles, regardless of experience," he said.
"Of course, the directing approaches must be different because of the varying levels of knowledge. Newcomers are more camera-conscious and do not know much about technical stuff. But when it comes to portraying the characters' essence, experience doesn't matter as long as the actors can understand who they're playing."
Not Another Teen Movie
Despite his film's critical success, Lucky has no plans to make another teen movie soon.
"I feel like I've explored it, so I have to move on. With the current situation, there are so many things to talk about through films. I don't know exactly what it is I'm gonna address. It will depend on whatever bugs me the most," he said.
Lucky and fellow filmmaker Nia Dinata are currently co-writing a drama/comedy series, which will be released on the Viu streaming platform.
It is not his first time working with Nia, as he also co-wrote the script for her blockbuster movie "Ini Kisah Tiga Dara," which was released in September last year.
Nor is it his first time directing a web series because he previously made LGBT drama "CONQ," which ran on YouTube during 2014 and 2015.
In the future, Lucky aspires to collaborate with people in other forms of art.
"I want to work with artists from different disciplines, whether it's theater, dance, or fine arts, because I feel like we're all sending a message through our works, but using different media. I would learn a lot from them," the director said.
Lucky also directed "The Fox Exploits the Tiger's Might," which earned him recognition at Indonesia's prestigious Piala Citra Awards, and Singapore's Silver Screen Awards.
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