By screening the two movies, Indonesia wants to introduce its society and culture as well as promotes Bangka Belitung and Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara---two locations where the movies shot and now becoming tourist attractions.
Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja on the Gala Opening Night of the AFF 2017 expressed his gratitude for seeing around 100 people attended the festival which was organized by the embassies of the Southeast Asian countries namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.
"Film is a medium of communication to deliver the messages by depicting values in the societies. Film is expected to improve the understanding of Dutch society towards values and culture of people living in Southeast Asia," he said in a written statement received by ANTARA on Sunday.
In addition to the two Indonesian films, the Kinepolis Cinema of Utrecht also screens eight other films from Southeast Asia namely "K`na the Dreamweaver" (2014) and "Across the Crescent Moon" (2017) from the Philippines; "Cun!" (2011) and "Kanang Anak Langkau/The Iban Warrior" (2017) from Malaysia; "Khid Thueng Withaya/The Teacher`s Diary" (2014) and "By the Time It Gets Dark" (2016) from Thailand; "Tam Cam: Chuyen Chua Ke/Tam Cam: The Untold Story" (2016) and "T?i Thay Hoa V?ng Tr?n Co Xanh/Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass" (2015) from Vietnam.
AFF 2017 received a good welcome from the audiences in the Netherlands, who some expected for the festival to be continued the next years.
"I hope next time there will be more best films from Southeast Asia to be screened here," Irshad, a Moroccan who is currently studying at the Rotterdam Business School said after watching "The Rainbow Troops".
Meanwhile, a Filipino woman who lives in Utrecht, Grace, said that through "The Rainbow Troops" she can picture the Muslims` life in Indonesia as well as education situation in the remote area of the archipelago.
Reported by Zeynita Gibbons
(Y013/b003/B003)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
