Denias Goes to the Oscar!

Author: Marisa Duma
Filed under: Advertising and Media, Arts and Culture, Indonesia, International, Tags: Advertising and Media, Arts and Culture, Indonesia, International

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Sunday Jan 13,2008
Job well done. One of Indonesia's national movies, Denias: Senandung di Atas Awan [Link], has been selected as the official movie from the country to compete for 80th Academy Awards' Best Foreign Film Oscar. Thus far, only three Southeast Asian countries made it to Oscar's Foreign Film nominees: Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Denias Senandung di Atas Awan, subtitled Denias Singing on the Clouds, is directed by John Rantau, script written by Jeremias Nyangoen, Masree Ruliat, Monty Tiwa, also John Rantau himself, and starred by Albert Thom Joshua Fakdawer, Ari Sihasale, Nia Zulkarnaen and Marcella Zalianty. Denias or Janias as the lead character of the story is a Papuan tribe child on his striving quest for education, the movie is adapted from his true story.
The movie's main theme, being situated entirely on the vast and green highlands of Papua, is regarded as one of the movie's outstanding qualities; coincidentally it is also capturing PT. Freeport Indonesia establishments on the lands of Papua, for instance YPJ Kuala Kencana elementary school, the set used as Denias' school, which is patroned by the mining company. As a reminder, one of the controversies regarding Papua involves three killings of American teachers in year 2002; the relationship between Freeport and Indonesian military officers came under renewed scrutiny in a report by Global Witness, as told by Kerry B. Collison on his site [Link]–one of the movie's protagonist character presents a millitary officer named Maleo.
John Rantau also directed for Finding Madona, a film capturing HIV issues in Papua; it has been nominated in several international events as well, naming Shanghai Film Festival, Singapore Film Festival, and Russia Film Festival. Prior to Denias' Oscar entry, two of Indonesia's movie-makers have received international honoraries in cinematography: Riri Riza's Three Days to Forever, winning London Movie Festival 2007's for Best Movie, and Wahyu Aditya, awarded as the International Young Screen Entrepeneur 2007. Another film in our list of recommendation is Long Road to Heaven [Link], a movie portraying the Bali bombing of 2002 from several characters' points-of-view: Hambali as the terrorists leader, Hannah Cattrelle as an American tourist and her encounter with Pak Haji Ismail as a Muslim living in Bali, Tim Dawson as an Australian father of a bombing victim, Liz Thompson as an Australian journalist and her encounter with Wayan as the Balinese taxi driver.
Eventhough the movie has been listed amongst the best out of 63 countries planetwide [Link], Denias Singing on the Clouds hasn't made it to the Big Five just yet, the official Oscar nominees will be announced Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Nama saya Denias. Mama saya suruh saya sekolah. Karena dia bilang gunung takut pada anak sekolah.
My name is Denias. My mother told me to go to school. Because she said the mountains fear the scholars.
– Denias
Denias: Senandung di Atas Awan trailer


Related posts
Denias On Perspektif Baru
Indonesia's Movie For Oscar?
Denias Senandung di Atas Awan

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