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Capturing the spirit of diversity through film

Exploring what it means to be a woman in Indonesia is the focus of Superia, the short film that won Best Documentary and Best Film at ReelOzInd! 2024.

The film festival premiered last week with events in Melbourne and Samarinda and director Rummana Yamanie’s film was a smooth fit with this year’s theme of ‘diversity’ or ‘keberagaman’.

Superia examines being a woman from the perspective of six different women who come from different cultural, ethnic and class backgrounds and who experience different challenges.

Rummana says she and producer/project initiator Kartika Jahja were initially interested in a stage production before the opportunity for a short film came up.

Rummana Yamanie speaks to the audience after the premiere screening in Samarinda, 24 October 2024

“Each of the women in this film have such interesting experiences. The struggles they face and their stories are rich, diverse and inspiring,” she says.

“When we conducted interviews we found their stories profoundly moving and we wanted to share them with a broader public audience.”

Rummana prefers to leave it to viewers to interpret what message they should take from the film.

“I do want audiences to gain different perspectives and somehow cultivate empathy for other people who are different from us, especially for women,” she says.

For Rummana, the project was both fun and an opportunity to experiment.

“We had a limited budget to work with and just one day to shoot the footage, however, I feel happy with how it turned out,” she says.

“Not only was this my first time directing a short film, it was also a chance to get to know the cast personally and learning their stories made it a personally fulfilling experience.”

Our Wellbeing, Our Way: Directed by Radheya Jegatheva, Luisa Mitchell. With Bruce Denny, Lynette Narkle.

In Our Wellbeing Our Way, winner of the Best Animation prize, co-director Luisa Mitchell, explained that she wanted to go beyond “a dry, factual video”. 

Mitchell, a Nyungar writer and filmmaker, and her co-director, Radheya Jegatheva, were commissioned by the Centre for Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention to create a short film on Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing.

“I wanted the film to have the most impact and connect with people emotionally through storytelling,” Mitchell says.

“For me, understanding Indigenous Australian wellbeing and the challenges we face today is about understanding our history, so I knew I had to take a dive back to the beginnings of settlement and colonisation.”

The short film tells a story from the perspective of a woman and a man who ultimately become elders, describing a journey that is both tragic and optimistic.

“I wanted this film to be more than a reflection on the past, but also [about] what it requires to build a better future and leave viewers with a sense of hope,” she says.

The campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was in full swing at the time the film was being made. Mitchell admits to experiencing heartbreak at the outcome but still views Voice, Treaty and Truth as practical ways forward.

“I’m so glad our little film still advocates for that to new audiences,” she says.

“I hope our film will help audiences to look past stereotypes of Indigenous Australians and understand the complexity, rich diversity and skills of our peoples and cultures across Australia.”

Director Ayyub Basya’s Saru Latar Biru (Azure Vacillation) took out the Jim Schiller Prize for Best Young Filmmaker (13-18 years). The film is the story of a boy who goes searching for his parents on the outskirts of Jakarta and finds support in a conversation with a transgender woman.

“My inspiration was based on my concerns about social issues, especially humanitarian issues that lead to inequality, as well as discrimination and misperception,” Ayyub says.

“This is a fundamental issue that is close to us but too often forgotten.

I don’t expect the audience to capture a particular message through the film but I hope they feel something through the story conveyed by two characters.” 

Saru Latar Biru is written and directed by seventeen year old Ayyub Basya

Ayyub says this project was important for the issues it raises about how society labels other people without understanding who they are.

East Java director Lutfi Masduki’s film Tamu (I’m Happy But Not Today) tells the story of a young man sacrificing his own desire to be himself  in order to provide an education for his sister.

The film, which won the Lily Yulianti Farid Prize for Best Fiction, looks at themes of sexuality and gender while avoiding judgement.

Lutfi made the film in conjunction with producer Silmy Amjad and drew inspiration from seeing and understanding different people’s choices and realising “everyone is destined to be different”.

“I began to make stories from what I saw without looking from a religious or cultural perspective, I just wrote what happened before my eyes,” he says.

“We all have life challenges and we must always be there and accepting of life differences.”

The ReelOzInd! 2024 Festival reel can be viewed here.