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Suratsurat

Letter To Lin

( from Bambang Suwita, a victim of the Bali Bombing who has been assisted with retraining by Byron LovesBali /AIAA )

Dear ibu Lin,
yang saya hormati

saya minta maaf sebab lama tidak kirim email, sebab saya sekarang sedang praktek mengajar di sekolah so saya agak sibuk dan tempatnya juga jauh dari kota. saya mohon anda memaafkan, u know untuk aksses internet saya harus ke kota dan waktu saya saat ini saya konsentrasikan buat program dari sekolah. oh yah, program saya ini kira-kira butuh waktu 2 bulan dan tentu saja saya harus tinggal di tempat baru dengan karakter masyarakat yang berbeda. saya optimis bisa adaptasi dengan masyarakat setempat dan mensukseskan program ini. tentu saya mohon bantuan doa dari anda.

dan uang yang anda kirimkan beberapa bulan yang lalu sudah saya gunakan untuk pembayaran sekolah dan program-program tambahan. thanks so much bantuan anda. tolong sampaikan salam dan ucapan terima kasih buat teman-teman anda. thanks and good luck. bye

salam Bambang


Message from Kerensa

I have been off email for a while and it has been great to get on line again and see that different types of Indonesian artists and different people are working in Australia and that people are branching out beyond the usual safe areas for contacts....(i.e. bringing out either the same artists year after year or the same art forms.) This is such a big wonderful country and part of the reason people don't hear about the amazing talent here is partly a lack of promotion effort on the part of the artists themselves, but also little access or ability to finance means of communicating what they are doing to a wider audience. Padang... when I was at University there, it really did produce some of the best contemporary music and dance that I have seen in this country.

I expect this happened in Padang Panjang for two reasons. The students who studied up at ASKI Padang Panjang weren't from one homogenous group but from all over the island who had come to learn which also meant that due to distances, many students could not return home on weekends thus creating in that University town a vibrant, energetic and creative campus. And also students seem to have gone there to really learn soemthing new rather than just to collect a piece of paper.

The second reason, I believe is the lecturers... They were more committed to debate, discussion and education than during my experience at the campus in Bali. (In Bali students would return home on weekends).... They were motivated in the spirit of being an artist and being creative.

Here in Bandung (where I live), there are some amazing physical theatre groups - the conditions in which they work and create in would be absolutely illegal but what they produce and how they produce/create seems to have elements of Grotwoski/ Meyerhold and Barba in them... (who at various times in their work have been influenced by the work found in Asia). I have been wanting for a while to send material to Australia.

One group here, I can just see great possibility for collaboration between Rock and Roll Circus ( I think it has changed its name) in Brisbane. But seriously, I am not sure how or who to
send material to. As for myself, I would welcome anyone interested in generating stronger links between Indonesia and Australia in terms of theatre and performance into my house and would try to arrange appropriate meetings.

My motivation is that I believe theatre/performance in Australia has so much to gain ( no need to look to Europe - its all in our backyard) and also there is a lot that performers here miss out by virtue of the fact that Indonesia is a poorer country and work/artists that come in need to be heavily subsidized. My motivation isn't necessarily based on cultural understanding but on the simple fact that both our countries artistic work could be richer.

On another note, I worked with Wayan Sidya (the dalang form Theft of Sita) recently and it turns out that he was performing in the Darwin Festival... To Don from Sidetrack, if you are on this egroup; the director of Theft of Sita, Trio Dingo and anyone else ie Asia link residencies and everyone else in general.. It would be great to see some of your experiences and thoughts on this egroup about what you did, how you work, difficulties you faced. I am craving to hear perspectives and see dialogue rather than simply see media releases. It's possibly neither of these egroups are the place to do it.... ... Another example of an artist going to Australia in relatively unheard of circumstances was I Made Jimat, one of the world's finest Topeng performers who was working with schools and a community group in Toowoomba.

Salam Budaya.
Kerensa Dewantoro
kerensadewantoro@cbn.net.id


Dear Judy,

Good speaking with you a moment ago. As I told you by phone, my Indonesian colleague, Iswanto, will be in Australia for 3 months from March 4 till the end of May 2006. My partner, Ed Kiefer, and I would like to introduce Iswanto to environmentalists and educators in Australia. Iswanto is an Indonesian health scientist and educator with deep concerns for the problems of air and water pollution and land degradation and their threats to human health and well-being.

Iswanto’s main research has been on mosquito control, water and sanitation. He identified plastic rubbish as a major breeding ground for mosquitoes and this helped stimulate the creation of the Sukunan Waste Management, Recycling and Regreening Program. From this he and his community have begun to create a "Save the Earth School for Children". Visitors are now coming from many parts of Indonesia to study the Sukunan Program. The attached document describes the program more fully.

Iswanto and the Sukunan Community recently won several awards in Indonesia for their work on the Sukunan Program. The most recent is Iswanto's "Youth Leadership Award for the Province of Yogyakarta", Central Java. The others have been for Iswanto, his wife and the Sukunan community from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Women's Empowerment.

Essentially the aim is for Iswanto to take back to Indonesia lessons from Australia about sustainable living, simple living, waste management and environmental education though Richard Staples warned
me that Iswanto may become somewhat disillusioned when he sees what is going on in Byron. We do hope however, to give Iswanto hope and new ideas on how he can improve his own village and beyond. Also I attach Iswanto and my husband's and my biodata

warmest regards and look forward to meeting you

Lea Jellinek
Research Associate
Monash Asia Institute
Monash University

PO Box 672
Siddha Farm, Young Rd,
Nimbin, NSW 2480

phone: 02 66891608
mobile: 0439 620 323
email: ojell@lexicon.net

"Be the change you want to see in the world" Gandhi


Farewell to Leonie

NSW Indonesian teachers and other interested people were very sad when they received their last issue of Berita Bahasa Indonesia – a fantastic magazine produced by Leonie Wittman former Indonesian Consultant for the NSW Dept of Education.

Leonie will be sadly missed after her many years in the LOTE Section. She has been an inspiration and a wonderful support to all teachers and cultural groups involved in Indonesian cultural studies in NSW. She has now taken up her new position at the Centre For Learning Innovation.

“I feel very priveleged to have been able to work with so many passionate, committed and generous teachers across the state, and sincerely hope that there will be opportunity to work together in some way in the future.

“Thank you to the many colleagues who contributed to project teams which developed online, multimedia and print resources for students K-12. Your input has ensured that these resources are at the right level and meet the needs of classroom teachers. ….

“On reflection, it is fair to say that, as teachers of Indonesian, you have endured many obstacles in recent years. The DFAT travel warnings have stopped you taking groups of students to Indonesia and applying for in-country study programs. Teachers of other languages have not faced these restrictions. Furthermore, as geo-political events in Indonesia have unfolded, many of you have been confronted by unwarranted criticism and antagonism, merely because you were teaching Indonesian. In some instances Indonesian classes were not formed due to community pressure. As educators, we are critically aware that, now more than ever, Australians should expand, rather than limit their understanding of Indonesia.

Thanks once again to Leonie for her untiring efforts to support teachers through some very difficult times and best wishes for your new position. I am sure you will bring the same wonderful dedication, creativity and ability to your position at the Centre For Learning Innovation.

Salam budaya

Judy Shelley


JiFFest Responds to Last-Minute Withdrawal of Funds by the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII) due to films that “do not meet objectives”

We are shocked and disappointed by the Australia-Indonesia Institute’s (AII’s) last-minute withdrawal of support for this year’s Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) - funds that were committed fully five months ago in support of Australian films and workshops at this year’s festival.

Less than 24 hours before the festival’s opening, the AII – which operates under the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs - informed JiFFest of the withdrawal of their support because four Australian films being screened at the event “do not meet the objectives of the AII as set out in the Guidelines.” The films are: The President Vs David Hicks, Dhakiyarr Vs the King, We have Decided Not to Die and Garuda’s Deadly Upgrade.

We are amazed that such a decision should be conveyed to us barely 24 hours before the opening of JiFFest 2005, when AII’s concerns could have been expressed at any point between July 2005 (when the grant was awarded) and a few weeks before the festival – at which point it still would have been feasible to discuss the program content or seek alternative funding. Since JiFFest operates on an extremely tight budget, this last-minute withdrawal of funds will have a very damaging impact on the festival.

At no point did the AII ask to review the films JiFFest selected (or even their titles), or advise JiFFest of any review process. JiFFest does not understand why the films it selected supposedly “do not meet the objectives of the AII”, particularly since The President Vs David Hicks, Dhakiyarr Vs the King have been approved for screening by the Indonesian censor board.

Even if the AII disapproves of the specific films listed above, JiFFest fails to understand why they have withdrawn the entire sum of their grant to the festival, including funds that support master class workshops for Indonesian filmmakers, which represent 45% of the AII grant. Surely this workshop activity is a classic example of “developing relations between Australia and Indonesia by promoting greater mutual understanding” between the countries, to quote AII’s own program goals. We therefore regret that this important activity is being sacrificed.

Now in its 7th year, JiFFest has gained a proud reputation as an independent festival dedicated to quality films and the important messages they carry, particularly on the subject of human rights and social justice. We have therefore never allowed funding to influence our film selection, either as a carrot or a stick.

Orlow Seunke, JiFFest’s Director, said “JiFFest will go ahead and screen these films anyhow, as a matter of principle, although the festival must now pay out of its own limited coffers. I hope audiences in Jakarta will now show up in even greater numbers to view what the Australian government is apparently so worried about them seeing. All four films will be screened free of charge.”

For Further information:

Tel 021-31925115

Email info@jiffest.org

Web: www.jiffest.org


Tanggapan JiFFest Terhadap Pembatalan Dana Mendadak oleh Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) sehubungan dengan pemutaran empat film yang “tidak memenuhi tujuan AII”

Kami amat terkejut dan dikecewakan dengan pembatalan dukungan secara mendadak terhadap Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) 2005. Dukungan dalam bentuk dana ini telah disetujui pihak AII dalam rangka menunjang pemutaran film-film Australia dan pelaksanaan sejumlah workshop yang menjadi bagian acara festival kami tahun ini.

Kurang dari 24 jam sebelum festival resmi dibuka, AII yang bekerja di bawah Kementerian Luar Negeri Australia memberitahukan JiFFest bahwasanya pembatalan bantuan ini disebabkan rencana pemutaran empat film Australia dan hal tersebut “tidak sesuai dengan tujuan AII seperti yang tertulis di dalam garis besar (guideline) mereka. Film-film yang dimaksud adalah: The President Vs David Hicks, Dhakiyarr vs the King, We have Decided Not to Die dan Garuda’s Deadly Upgrade.

Kami, sekali lagi, amat terkejut karena keputusan tersebut disampaikan ke pihak JiFFest kurang dari 24 jam sebelum festival diresmikan, padahal pertimbangan dan keberatan AII bias disampaikan jauh hari sebelumnya, antara bulan Jul 2005 (saat dana disetujui) hingga beberapa minggu sebelum dimulainya festival, di mana waktu masih memungkinkan pihak penyelenggara dan AII untuk bertukar-pikiran atau bila tidak ditemui jalan tengah, pihak penyelenggara masih mungkin mencari kemungkinan bantuan dana dari pihak lain. Karena JiFFest (selalu) diselenggarakan dengan dana minimal, pembatalan sepihak dan mendadak dari AII ini amat menganggu dan merugikan, juga berdampak besar pada penyelenggaraan festival.

Tak pernah sekalipun pihak AII mengutarakan niat untuk meneliti film-film yang dipilih untuk diputar di JiFFest (bahkan, pihak AII tak pernah meminta daftar judul dari film-film), atau memberi imbauan saat memilih film-film yang akan diputar. Pihak JiFFest masih tak mengerti mengapa film-film yang dipilih dinyatakan “tidak memenuhi tujuan AII”, terutama (ironisnya) The President vs David Hicks, Dhakiyarr vs the King telah lolos sensor dari Lembaga Sensor Film (LSF).

Meskipun AII berkeberatan atas film-film yang telah disebutkan tadi, JiFFest tetap tak mengerti mengapa AII membatalkan seluruh dana untuk penyelenggaraan festival, termasuk dana untuk mendukung terselenggaranya master class workshops bagi para pembuat film Indonesia, yang sedianya 45% biaya berasal dari dana AII. Padahal, kami yakin kegiatan workshop ini merupakan contoh ideal dari “membangun hubungan antara Australia dan Indonesia dengan menciptakan saling pengertian antara kedua negara”, mengutip salah satu tujuan AII. Karena itu kami amat menyayangkan kegiatan penting ini menjadi korban keputusan sepihak.

Di tahunnya yang ketujuh, JiFFest telah membangun reputasinya sebagai sebuah festival (ajang budaya) yang mandiri dan mendedikasikan diri bagi film-film yang berkualitas beserta isi yang dikandung film-film tersebut, termasuk isu hak azasi manusia dan keadilan sosial. Karena itu, kami tidak akan membiarkan bantuan dana pihak manapun mempengaruhi pemilihan film-film yang akan kami tayangkan.

Orlow Seunke, selaku direktur JiFFest, menyatakan, “JiFFest akan terus berlangsung dan tetap memutar film-film yang menjadi keberatan AII berdasarkan pertimbangan prinsipil, meski festival ini harus berjuang untuk menutupi beragam kekurangan pendanaan. Kami berharap para penonton di Jakarta berdatangan dalam jumlah banyak untuk melihat dan membuktikan apa yang menjadi kekhawatiran pemerintah Australia. Keempat film ini sejak awal telah kami rencanakan akan diputar tanpa biaya.”

Informasi rinci:

Tel 021-31925115

Email info@jiffest.org

Web: www.jiffest.org

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