Workshop talk: CHINESE WEAVE
Thu, 13-May-21 11:00 AM
Regine Steenbock
A busy training center for domestic workers in Indramayu, West Java. Like millions of Indonesian rural women, Sukma, Meri, Muji and Tari dream of a better life and finding happiness working in families overseas. A booming domestic worker industry places thousands of mostly Muslim women each year, in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Recruited by local agents, they are trained as housekeepers and caregivers, given rudimentary language skills while they complete their paperwork and wait for placement.
And “even though the child hasn’t even left yet, her family is already dreaming of buying things like a goat or a motorcycle. And that’s just the parents, not counting the wish lists of other relatives,” Ismail Fahmi Lubis tells JakartaPost in an interview about the making of his film.
The women do bring in an income that can alleviate the family’s poverty, but does it really improve their lives? And at what cost?
Ismail Fahmi Lubis is one of Indonesia’s premiere documentary filmmakers. Upon graduating from Institut Kesenian (Institute of Arts) Jakarta in 1993, he directed several Indonesian drama series before switching his focus to documentary in 1998. As a cinematographer, Ismail has worked with notable filmmakers including Leonard Retel Helmrich and Cathy Henkel. He has also worked as a tutor for Documentary Master Classes at the Jakarta Int. Film Festival in 2006 and 2007.
MASKED MONKEY: THE EVOLUTION OF DARWIN’S THEORY (2014) depicts street artists in Jakarta, who use monkeys in their shows. TARLING IS DARLING (2017) follows a musical entertainer in single-shot cinematography and won a Special Jury Mention at Taiwan Int. Film Festival.
Director, cinematography: Ismail Fahmi Lubis
Editing: Nick Calpakdjian
Composer: Arlo Picasso Enemark
Sounddesign: Hadrianus Eko
Production: Nick Calpakdjian, Mark Olsen
Distribution: filmotor, Prag filmotorfest@gmail.com