12th(2010)
Sugiharti Halim
Ariani DARMAWAN
- Indonesia
- 2008
- 10min
- Beta
- color
- Experiment, 드라마
SYNOPSIS
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival 2009
Best Film and Audience Award / Konfiden Short Film Festival 2008
Synopsis
What’s in a name? For Sugiharti Halim, though, a name can lead to a never-ending question. Sugiharti Halim offers a perspective that is comical, provocative, contextual, and deserving to be reexamined today.
Program Note
Does a name truly identify oneself from others? What do I do with the history of my ancestors or the desires of my parents, or the ridiculous images that I never asked for? This film shows the conflict toward identity that Indonesians feel about the geographical location of Indonesia and names through ‘Sugiharti Halim,’ the main character of this film who is a Chinese-Indonesian woman in 2008. Following the military coup in 1966, Indonesians of Chinese descent had to change their names to ones that could be pronounced in Indonesian. But since that name was hard to pronounce and did not go with her outer appearance, her first encounters with anyone were always accompanied by lengthy explanations, complaints, and rage about her name. Therefore, Halim wanted an American style name, quite fitting to a transnational era, which had no ghosts from the past attached to it. (SIM Hye-kyong)
PROGRAM NOTE
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival 2009
Best Film and Audience Award / Konfiden Short Film Festival 2008
Synopsis
What’s in a name? For Sugiharti Halim, though, a name can lead to a never-ending question. Sugiharti Halim offers a perspective that is comical, provocative, contextual, and deserving to be reexamined today.
Program Note
Does a name truly identify oneself from others? What do I do with the history of my ancestors or the desires of my parents, or the ridiculous images that I never asked for? This film shows the conflict toward identity that Indonesians feel about the geographical location of Indonesia and names through ‘Sugiharti Halim,’ the main character of this film who is a Chinese-Indonesian woman in 2008. Following the military coup in 1966, Indonesians of Chinese descent had to change their names to ones that could be pronounced in Indonesian. But since that name was hard to pronounce and did not go with her outer appearance, her first encounters with anyone were always accompanied by lengthy explanations, complaints, and rage about her name. Therefore, Halim wanted an American style name, quite fitting to a transnational era, which had no ghosts from the past attached to it. (SIM Hye-kyong)
Director
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Ariani DARMAWANAriani DARMAWAN
Ariani Darmawan is a video artist and filmmaker in Bandung, Indonesia. She studied Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after finishing her bachelor degree in Architecture. Ariani has participated in numerous film festivals and art exhibitions ranging from short films, documentary to video installations and collaborative theatrical works. Her latest film, Sugiharti Halim won both Best Film Award and Audience’s Award in Indonesia’s foremost short film festival, Konfiden. Her work also competed in the prestigious 2009’s Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Ariani is involved in VideoBabes, an artist initiative group. She is now preparing her first feature film, a collaboration with an Indonesian pop rock alternative group, Efek Rumah Kaca.
Credit
- ProducerAriani DARMAWAN
- Cast Maria NADIA, Hengky HIDAYAT
- Screenwriter Ariani DARMAWAN
- Cinematography Joedith TJHRISTIANTO
- Art director Prilla TANIA
- Editor Astu PRASIDYA
- Music Alexander BENEDICT
- Sound Ariani DARMAWAN
