Piala Maya Rewards 'Tjokroaminoto,' Calls On Opportunities for Deaf Talents
Jakarta. The movie "Guru Bangsa Tjokroaminoto" had the biggest win at this year's Piala Maya, bagging eight prizes out of 15 nominations, including titles for best film and director for Garin Nugroho.
Actor Reza Rahadian, who plays the title role, accepted the award for best director on behalf of Garin, who was in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, when the the prizes were awarded in Jakarta on Saturday night.
"I do feel the warmth of this festival. Congratulations to Garin. He texted me earlier that people probably think he fell asleep during the making of the movie," Reza said while accepting the award.
Garin was snubbed at the Festival Film Indonesia last month, where "Tjokroaminoto" led with eight nominations but not in the best director category.
One of the most important remarks during the awarding night was delivered by actress Dewi Yull, who called for more opportunities for deaf talents. Dewi appeared on stage with her deaf son Surya Sahetapy to announce the winner of best sound arrangement. Satrio Budiono won the title for his work in "Tjokroaminoto."
"There are five million deaf people in Indonesia, so it is important to give deaf talents a chance in our film industry," Dewi said.
The organizer had also hired a special presenter to interpret the night in sign language.
The committee of Piala Maya handed out 30 prizes this weekend — including unconventional categories not found in the government-sponsored FFI, such as best upcoming talents, film critic, locally released film, poster design and DVD collection.
A lifetime achievement award was given to veteran filmmaker Hendrick Gozali, who has produced more than 50 films.
The awards were initiated in 2011 by Hafiz Husni and Rangga Wisesa, two film buffs who run the @Film_Indonesia account on Twitter and have nearly 500,000 followers.
The event is organized by independent film communities who actively watch, discuss and write about Indonesian films. The jury consists of over 400 members; filmmakers, film critics, bloggers, journalists, social scientists and activists.
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