I never focus on external influences that may affect my scriptwriting. I, instead, focus on how to create a good movie by ensuring the quality of the film's plot. As long as we continue producing, we need to ensure our presence there, and we should sJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian film directors Joko Anwar, Edwin, and Yosep Anggi Noen drew attention to the importance of film festivals during a dialog held on the second day of the Sundance Film Festival: Asia 2021 on Friday.
Anwar, director of the film Impetigore, explained that film festivals are an essential cultural exchange medium and are not merely an event where movies are played and visitors watch them together.
"The diverse languages we heard in different movies introduced us to new cultures," Anwar stated in his press release on Saturday.
A film festival is also a medium for film directors to present creative ideas, gain experience in film directing, and drive their movie-making spirit, Anwar remarked.
"I never focus on external influences that may affect my scriptwriting. I, instead, focus on how to create a good movie by ensuring the quality of the film's plot. As long as we continue producing, we need to ensure our presence there, and we should strive to present something new and innovative," Anwar stated.
Edwin, whose last movie "Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash" won the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival, stated that film festivals could serve as a medium to seek funding for producing a movie.
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"I admit film festivals often contributed the largest percentage for a film's production capital. With the current era of digitization, we could participate in the festival from anywhere, and movie directors will find it easier to access the festival," he noted.
Movie directors should participate in film festivals that fit their ideals and vision, Edwin remarked.
Noen, whose last directed film "The Science of Fictions" released in 2019, stated that accolades and achievements at the film festival are testament of a movie being worth watching, as its design, value, and message have been proven as being the best.
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"We need to conceive first what message and value we intend to deliver to the viewers, and we also need to ensure that our movie would have a positive impact on the public. Those are more important than achieving accolades and income targets," Noen stated.
The main point of filmmaking is to create meaningful works that draw public interest to watch and comprehend values delivered by the movie, regardless of the film only targeting the Indonesian market, with no intent of a global reach, he noted.
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Translator: Nanien Yuniar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
