Print Page ‘http://www. thejakartapost. comy/print’ 13267C Published on ‘The Jakarta Post (http://www.thejakartapost.com) Capturing complex realities ‘The Jakarta Post | Sun, 03/12/2006 3:02 PM | Life Director Aryo Danusiri's ethnographic documentary Lukas! Moment had premiered in Indonesia at Jiffest 2003. The movie tells the story of a young man living in Merauke, Papua, trying to learn the ropes of shrimp trading. The film received mixed responses: some said tt was not political enough, others that it was good precisely because it evoked a closeness with Lukas and his surroundings in Merauke. Aryo Damusiri speaks t0 The Jakarta Post’s film writer Lisabona Rahman about his changing methods in filmmaking leading up to Lukas' Moment. Question: What is different in Lukas' Moment compared to your previous films? Answer: In my previous films, I always felt that there was a gap between the statements I make through film and what actually happens in the field. In Village Goat Takes the Beating -- my film about Aceh people ~ I think I already succeeded in creating something which was different from the mainstream. But still, [think [tried too hard to project my own ideas, Somebody commented that the film was highly persuasive and clear, but asked why I didn't try to cover both sides of the story -- from the point of view of Indonesian government too. Iwas concemed. I don't think covering both sides won't make the gap between statements and reality disappear. So I tried to change the way I work. It didn't work at first, because before I met Lukas I also met two other subjects, but apart from problems with time and permits, I was still projecting what I wanted to get from them. realized when I met Lukas, I had to open myself and trust him with this film. I tried to be partners with Lukas, so instead of making a film about Lukas, I tried making it with him, And it somehow worked, I encountered so many discoveries I wouldn't have thought of before Do you feel a tension between observing and making statements when you make films? ‘There is ahways the danger of failing to address the complexity of a problem and simplifying it when making a documentary In the process of Lukas’ Moment, Ltried to look back to the process of Village Goat Takes the Beating. 1 think at that time I tried to counter a stereotype of the Acehnese, that they are rebellious, and bring up positive images about them, I think [ succeeded in creating a positive image about Acehnese people as victims, but I feel I failed at showing people that the problem is much more complicated. At that time, I felt this positive image was just a new stereotype I created with this film. Isn't that a common problem with political documentaries? 9011 2:16 AMPrint Page ‘http://www. thejakartapost. comy/print’ 13267C Yes. But the impact of my film changed. Audiences who have seen Village Goat were responding directly to the victim's story by saying, "Kill the military!"” and things like that. I noticed that the audience of Lukas' Moment got a different impact from my film. They talked about the problems in much more complicated way than before and paid attention to similarities between them and Lukas, and also to the differences. I think itis a good method to develop for Indonesian documentaries, how a film should try to address the complexity of a problem rather just define a subject in terms of stereotyped roles as victims, perpetrators and all that, Do you think complexity makes it difficult to convey a solid opinion? I think complexity makes a story more convineing, If [ were to make Village Goat again, I would question who are the actual victims. I think this time, I wouldnt just see Avehnese people as the only vietims of the armed conflict -- there's also the Javanese, even soldiers can be vietims because they are just part of an abstract structure and have to carry orders. If we can reveal the complexity, we will see the problem in its many dimensions. —»P Copyright © 2011 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved. Source URL: http://www thejakartapost.com/news/2006/03/12/capturing-complex-realities. html 9011 2:16 AM