Ehm! Indonesia’s Beauty at the French Riviera

Amid the red carpet glamor and celebrity schmoozing of t he Cannes International Film Festival, actress Dian Sastrowardoyo finds herself with the honor of serving as the face of Indonesia for the first time.

Founded in 1946, Cannes came into being right around the same time that Dian’s homeland gained its independence. Today the festival, named for the French Riviera town that plays host, is one of the international film industry’s marquee annual events.

“It’s become one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world,” said Juliette Derosiaux, audio visual executive of the Institut Francais Indonesia. “Every year, the best movies from all over the world, from all genres, are presented.”

A series of film screenings, master classes and exhibitions are scheduled during the 12-day festival, which wraps up on Sunday. But perhaps the most popular feature is the red carpet processions, in which world-famous celebrities looking their best walk into the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, where the film festival is held.

This year, Dian will share in that limelight. L’Oreal Paris has selected the actress as its first Indonesian brand ambassador to attend the prestigious gathering.

“I feel honored and grateful to have been chosen,” Dian said, beaming.

L’Oreal Paris has been the official makeup partner of the event for 15 years. Every year, L’Oreal invites international brand ambassadors, who are all famous actresses, to the festival.

This year, Dian will attend Cannes along with American actresses Andie MacDowell and Aimee Mullins, Chinese beauty Gong Li, Australian actress Megan Gale and Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor.

“This is a very important chapter, a new chapter in the history of L’Oreal Paris in the Cannes Film Festival,” said Vismay Sharma, president director of L’Oreal Paris Indonesia. “As a tribute to Indonesia as a country and a tribute to the Indonesian market, this year, for the very first time, we invited an Indonesian spokesperson to the Cannes Film Festival.”

Dian is also the first brand ambassador from Southeast Asia to represent L’Oreal at Cannes.

“China, India and Indonesia are countries with the biggest populations in Asia,” said Monika Ardianti Sugiharso, marketing manager of L’Oreal Paris Indonesia. “L’Oreal Paris has agreed that it’s time for Indonesia to have a presence in the international film festival this year.”

The selection process began early this year, with L’Oreal Paris Indonesia forwarding Dian’s profile to its headquarters in Paris.

“Dian has multi-dimensional beauty,” Monika said. “She’s not only beautiful on the outside, but she’s also very talented.”

The 30-year-old film actress started her career as a model, which took off in 1996 after winning Gadis Sampul, a beauty pageant held by Gadis magazine.

It was film director Rudi Soedjarwo who first recognized her acting talents and invited her to star in “Bintang Jatuh” (“Shooting Star”) in 2000. But it was her second movie, “Pasir Berbisik” (“Whispering Sands,” 2001) that catapulted Dian to stardom. The film earned Dian the Best Actress awards at the Deauville Asian Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival in 2002.

She also won the title of Best Actress at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) in 2004, for her role in the movie “Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?” (“What’s Up With Love?,” 2002) and 2005’s Most Promising Newcomer title at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

“I’ve attended a number of international film festivals before,” Dian said. “But none of them matches the scale of the Cannes Film Festival that I’m about to attend. I’m so thrilled.”

Dian will attend a series of media interviews and cocktail parties over the weekend.

“I’ll be the first one [brand ambassador] from Indonesia in Cannes,” she said. “The reporters will surely ask a lot about Indonesia.”

Dian and her team have been preparing to answer those questions.

“I have to be prepared to answer their questions about the current issues on Indonesia, such as gender equality and poverty alleviation,” she said.

Dian will also appear in the most anticipated event of the festival, the closing ceremony, where the coveted Palme d’Or is awarded to the international film industry’s best.

How has Dian prepared for the big event?

“I have to look my best,” she said.

That has meant a strict beauty regime for more than a month prior to Dian’s departure for France.

“No matter how tired I am at night, I have to clean up my face and diligently apply the night cream,” she said. “Soft and supple facial skin is very important for the perfect look.”

Famous American makeup artist William Norris Brasfield, also known as Billy B., will do Dian’s makeup.

Billy B. is one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the world. Among his loyal clientele are top names in the international music industry, including Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Mary J. Blige.

During the film festival, Dian will show off the latest makeup collection from L’Oreal, “Cannes Electric.” The new palette is dominated by neon-bright colors, such as fuchsia, red and orange.

“The colors are perfect for Dian’s light brown skin,” L’Oreal Paris Indonesia makeup artist Adi Adrian said.

The dresses that Dian wears will also be under the spotlight over the course of the week.

For her media interviews in Cannes, Dian will wear an off-shoulder cocktail dress by top Indonesian fashion designer Sebastian Gunawan.

“He [Sebastian] said that he was inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s dresses in the 1950s,” Dian said.

The A-line taffeta dress will be enhanced with a handwoven shawl from Bali.

On awards night, Dian will wear an evening gown by haute couture designer Eddy Betty.

“It’s such a privilege for me to design a dress for the red carpet moment at Cannes,” Eddy said. “I’m both anxious and thrilled. The dress has to be excellent. All eyes will be on it.”

Eddy’s creation was inspired by Indonesian dodotan, or a long piece of batik wrapped around the body and secured with a knot, usually worn during traditional Javanese ceremonies. His one-shoulder dress has ornate floral embellishments on the bodice and draperies cascading down the lower front of the skirt. It is embellished with French Chantilly lace in various hues of orange.

“I tie-dyed it myself,” Eddy said. “I think orange goes very well with Dian’s beautiful skin color.”

For the after-party, Dian will wear designer Didit Hediprasetyo’s silver long dress, which is made of handwoven songket from South Sumatra. “It’ll be very elegant,” Dian said.

Yet for Dian, her appearance at Cannes is about more than just looking good and scoring publicity.

“I see it as an opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge and experience in the film industry,” she said. “Hopefully, I can use [both] to contribute to the Indonesian film industry.”

“Wonderful Indonesia” in Korea

The Indonesian pavilion at the huge ongoing Yeosu Korea Expo 2012 carries the theme :” Wonderful Indonesia: Sustaining Tropical Diversity” . The tagline follows the overall theme of the Expo ,held in the largest southern harbour of South Korea: “The Living Ocean and Coast”, “Dreams for the Ocean of the Future. Harmony for Humanity in Yeosu”. The Wonderful Indonesia Pavilion has as logo the ancient coelacanth fish, caught in North Sulawesi in 1999, that experts had considered extinct.

The Yeosu Expo 2012 which is participated by 160 countries was officially opened in a spectacular ceremony by South Korea President Lee Myung-Bak on Saturday, 12 May. The Expo which will run for 3 months from 12 May to 12 August is expected to draw 8 million people.

In Korea Expo 2012, Indonesia’s Pavilion, located among the Pacific countries, shows how the Indonesian seas have long been important sealanes for world’s maritime traffic. A number of historic items found at the bottom of Indonesia’s seas are also exhibited here, said Gellwynn Jusuf, Secretary General of the Ministry for the Seas and Fisheries, in charge of the Pavilion. Here we also promote Indonesia’s wonderfully rich underwater life that are world tourist attractions, such as the Wakatobi National Park, and the Lembeh and Bunaken Park in North Sulawesi and others. Other products promoted are Indonesia’s fishcatch and its sustainable management so as to provide adequate living for fishermen, said Gellwynn.

Indonesia’s participation at this Ocean Expo is important considering thatIndonesia is a maritime nation with the largest seas in the world. We wish to tell the world that Indonesia is very concerned with the sustainable development of the ocenas which will be the global ecoomic source of the future.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea, Nick T Dammen stated that Indonesia’s presence at the Yuosu Korea Expo 2012 is important since this is the first time that the Expo was held by the Korean Government in the country’s largest harbor in the southern part of Korea.
(Source: antaranews, indonesia.travel)

Wulan Guritno Picks Up Honor at Moscow Film Fest

Actress Wulan Guritno’s first foray into producing a film instead of starring in one has been an instant success.

“Dilema,” the former model’s new omnibus film featuring an all-star cast, including Slamet Rahardjo, Jajang C. Noer, and Lukman Sardi, was just named best feature film at DetectiveFEST, an international festival in Moscow.

The annual festival in Russia focuses on films that deal with issues of law and crime.

“‘Dilema’ fits very well into the festival since it is a movie about law, the police, and social issues in Indonesia,” Wulan said.?

UNESCO acknowledges S. Sulawesi’s La Galigo

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has put South Sulawesi’s ancient literary epic La Galigo on the Memory of the World (MOW) list, making it the second document from Indonesia after Negarakertagama in 2008 to earn the acknowledgement.

UNESCO Indonesia national commission head Arif Rahman handed over the MOW certificate to South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo on Thursday evening in the province’s capital of Makassar. The governor will then submit it with the National Archives Board.

The director of Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV)/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Roger Tol, said Friday that it took three years for the manuscript to secure the acknowledgment.

According to Tol, there are 12 volumes of the La Galigo manuscript kept in the Leiden University’s library in the Netherlands, two of which were submitted to UNESCO, and another volume is kept in the La Galigo museum in Makassar.

The submitted volumes tell many ancient stories, including about the origins of humans in South Sulawesi, and have often become a primary reference for research on the Bugis people – the major ethnicity in the province. Another volume, comprising 217 pages, tells a story about the journey of Sawerigading and his son La Galigo to Sinrijawa.

Tol said that La Galigo was the longest prose in the world, as well as one of the most beautiful.

“But not too many people are interested in the manuscript because it is quite difficult to understand the script – making it even more important to be preserved,” he said before an audience at an international seminar on La Galigo at the University of Makassar.

He wished that the people of South Sulawesi, particularly those of Bugis descent, were willing to preserve the manuscript and collect the remaining volumes, which were thought to be kept by individuals. Tol predicted that the existing volumes kept in the Netherlands made up only one-third of the full manuscript.

Film Censorship Board chairman Muchlis Paeni welcomed the acknowledgment, saying that there should be extended research on many aspects contained in the manuscript, including gender issues, architecture, philosophy, navigation and rituals.

University of Indonesia cultural expert Achadiati Ikram said that of approximately some 700 languages that have ever existed in Indonesia, only less than 20 were still spoken and only 13 scripts still existed, including the Lontaraq script used in the La Galigo manuscript. (swd)

when Super Junior says Hatur Nuhun

Super Junior (Suju) member Shindong danced to the old song Cinta Jangan Kau Pergi (Love, Don’t Go), which was covered by a talented young singer, Vidi Aldiano.

Malaysian singer Sheila Madjid first popularized the song in 1997. Shindong performed the slow dance during the group’s first of three-days of concerts at the Mata Elang International Stadium, Ancol, North Jakarta, on Friday night.

Most of the fans seemed surprised with the first and one-of-a-kind performance during the group’s Super Show 4 world tour.

The group, better known as Suju, is in Jakarta for its three-day concert of the Super Show 4 World Tour from April 27-April 29.
“Shindong’s dancing to Cinta Jangan Kau Pergi is definitely the highlight of tonight’s concert,” said Karen, 14, one of the ELFS (Everlasting Friends); the nickname for Suju’s fandom.

Karen said that she was very satisfied with the group’s three-and-a-half hour performance.

The performance of Super Junior was very amazing. the group really showed the appreciation for their Indonesian fans by saying greetings in Indonesia. Shindong even came up with a more traditional term ‘hatur nuhun’ (Sundanese language for thank you).

During the group’s first concert in Jakarta at the Mata Elang International Stadium on Friday night, front man Leetuk greeted Indonesian fans with Assalamu’alaikum, knowing that Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population and Shindong closed with hatur nuhun.

taken from The Jakarta Post

Indonesian film competes at Moscow festival

An Indonesian movie entitled Dilema is competing at a Detective Film Festival in Moscow, which kicked off on April 25.

The omnibus crime drama movie is competing against films from England, Lithuania, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Republic of Czechoslovakia, Iran, China, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Turkey, Argentina and Russia.

“I am proud and happy to see that my first directed movie can compete in an international film festival. This will encourage me to do better,” actress turned director Wulan Guritno said during the opening of the festival in Moscow on Tuesday.

She attended the festival along with the movie cast, such as Jajang C. Noer, Adila Dimitri, Robby Ertanto and Rahman Fajar Ardiansyah.

Aji Surya, the Indonesian consulate general’s coordinator for social and cultural events in Moscow, said that the movie’s presence at the festival showed that the Indonesian creative industry was developing and starting to get international recognition.

“We will screen the movie at the Moscow State University for International Relations to introduce it to Russian youths,” he said in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The movie will also be promoted at the Silk Screen Asian Film Festival in Pittsburgh, US. (iwa)

(Takwn from The Jakarta Post)

Sendratari Ramayana yg mendunia

Sendratari Ramayana Candi Prambanan meraih penghargaan internasional “PATA Gold Award 2012″ mengalahkan 180 kontestan dari 79 negara pada kategori “Heritage and Culture”.

Penghargaan tersebut  mendapat perhatian juri dari segi pelestariannya, pengembangan, popularitasnya di dalam dan luar negeri, dampak eksternalnya bagi masyarakat sekitar serta keunikan tariannya yang memadukan seni tradisional dan modern.

Penghargaan PATA Gold Award 2012 itu merupakan penghargaan PATA Award yang diterima pihaknya untuk ketiga kali, yang pertama di Selandia Baru pada 1994 dan kedua di Beijing, China, pada 2011.

Cerita Sendratari Ramayana merujuk pada relief Epos Ramayana yang terukir dalam bentuk tiga dimensi terpahat di batu candi Prambanan yang dibangun pada abad ke-9 dan telah diakui sebagai Unesco world culture heritage list Indonesia.

Pentas Sendratari Ramayana tersebut pertama kali dilaksanakan di panggung terbuka sebelah selatan Candi Prambanan atas gagasan Letjen TNI (purn) GPH Djati Kusumo untuk menjadi daya tarik wisatawan waktu itu.

Kini  sendratari Ramayana yang dipentaskan di panggung terbuka berlatar belakang Candi Prambanan tiap Selasa, Kamis, Sabtu, dan Minggu atau seminggu penuh di kala bulan purnama itu semakin banyak mendulang penonton.

Sepanjang 2011 sekitar 75 ribu pengunjung menonton sendratari ini, meningkat dibanding tahun-tahun sebelumnya yang sekitar 50 ribu, meski kebanyakan anak-anak sekolah domestik.

Indonesian Thriller ‘Modus Anomali’ Is Not Your Ordinary Holiday Movie

A man wakes in a dark, stuffy space somewhere in the forest, and realizes that he has been buried alive. Disoriented and confused, he eventually escapes his grave and tries looking for a help. He finds a mobile phone in his pocket, but when he calls an emergency number, he finds that he’s also forgotten his name.

This scene opens “Modus Anomali,” a psychological thriller and the fourth film by writer and director Joko Anwar.

The film premiered at the prestigious South by Southwest film festival in March in Austin, Texas, and despite mixed reviews, a US distributor bought and will distribute the film.

“It’s a lo-fi film, small budget, small crew and cast,” Joko said.

“Modus Anomali” had a budget of Rp 4 billion ($435,000) and took just nine days to shoot. It was produced by Sheila “Lala” Timothy, who first worked with Joko on his third film, “Pintu Terlarang” (“The Forbidden Door”) in 2009.

“Modus Anomali” stars Rio Dewanto, who plays a man who goes on holiday with his family to a forest retreat. But Rio’s family disappears, and he must piece together what has happened. Rio finds alarm clocks that have been planted all over the forest, inferring that there is a race against time to find and save his family.

After a few minor roles in “Arisan 2,” “Pintu Terlarang” and “Tanda Tanya,” Rio finally earned the spotlight as the lead actor in “Modus.” The actor dominates the first half of the film, where he must run a small marathon through the woods.

“I had a lot of running sessions before shooting began,” Rio said. “You don’t want the shooting to have to stop just because you need to catch your breath.”

Rio said his role in “Modus” was definitely the most physically challenging of any part to date.

Former MTV VJ Hannah Al-Rashid plays a pregnant mother. The actress said she spent a month wearing a “baby bump” to physically adapt to playing the role of a pregnant woman.

“I was depressed because of the judgements from people around me when they found out I was pregnant,” said Hannah, who is not married.

“Modus” is presented in English with Indonesian subtitles. Some questioned Joko’s choice of language for the film (the actors have noticeable Indonesian accents as they say their lines), but the director insisted that language is merely a tool to tell a story.

“Jackie Chan can get away with his Chinese accent in Hollywood films. So can we,” Joko said.

At a press conference last Tuesday, Joko said he had been thinking about this project for some time. “Modus” began life as a short film, winning the Bucheon Award at the Network of Asian Fantastic Films in 2011. Encouraged by this success, Joko and producer Lala started shooting a feature-length film late last year.

Since it had such a low budget, Lala said they were careful to plan everything so the production was as efficient as possible.
“We couldn’t afford extra days, and we could only move locations up to three times a day,” she said.

Joko displayed his profound and budding talent with a deep exploration of a simple plot, creating a rewarding cinematic experience.
“Especially in a long sequence, I want the camera to respond to Rio and — vice versa — Rio to respond to the camera,” Joko said.

Cinematographer Gunnar “Unay” Nimpuno said he had to spend some time practicing with Rio to synchronize his camera with the actor’s movements.

“I have to say that the use of cameras in ‘Modus’ is experimental, and it’s quite challenging in terms of lens, angle and lighting,” Unay said.

The sound design for “Modus Anomali” is unique, and a critical component to the film’s suspenseful tone. Music director Aghi Narottama worked with Bemby Gusti and Ramondo Gascaro to create unusual sounds. According to Joko, the engineers even recorded the sound of a coffee machine and a toilet.

“They also measured the distance between Rio and the camera to make sure they got the volume right,” Lala said.

Aside from casting established actors, like Surya Saputra and Marsha Timothy, Joko also gave a chance to a few new actors such as Sadha Triyudha and Izzi Isman, whom he found through Twitter and Facebook.

There is also Aridh Tritama, a young boy who Joko met near his office only a week before shooting began, and Jose Gamo, whom Joko met during a school theater rehearsal.

“Modus Anomali” opens on Thursday in Cinema 21 and Blitzmegaplex.

For his next project, Joko plans to direct a short film in an omnibus project with several foreign directors.

taken from The Jakarta Globe

Indonesia’s “The Raid” kills American Action Movies Dead

I see a lot of movies. It’s not unheard of for me to go to two or three in a given week. I sit through the same trailers countless times, often for months in a row. Sometimes I wonder if my love for movies actually is a kind of addiction, something that I could be diagnosed with.

While I do appreciate originality and wild, new concepts, I’m not always looking for films that are going to re-invent the wheel. I don’t need a “game-changer.” In fact, the quest to be new, better and different often leads to a noticeable self-awareness that is at best smart-alecky and at worst, pompous.

That’s when the “mouthwash movies” come in. That’s a term I came up with several years ago for the kind of films you put on to cleanse your palate after seeing something particularly offensive or carelessly made. When I need a break from all the inventiveness and one-upmanship, the best antidote is to remind myself of those pure works of art. And it doesn’t have to be something snooty, either. Depending on what you’re looking for, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Die Hard” work just as well as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “The Godfather” to put things back where they belong. They’re not just great movies. They’re a reminder of why I love this particular art form, providing justification for this possible illness I’ve got.

Indonesian martial arts action flick “The Raid: Redemption” proved to be the perfect antidote to everything Hollywood has been threatening to push on me lately. Past experience has taught me that the best stuff usually comes out of nowhere. I had no idea this movie was even playing in Athens, and I ended up seeing it on Monday night with a crowd of three other people in the theater.

“The Raid” is about as meat-and-potatoes as it gets. A van full of heavily-armed cops dressed in riot gear pulls into the parking lot of a scary-looking building that’s packed to the gills with violent criminals and psychotic drug dealers. On the top floor is the leader of the bad guys, watching over everything on his trusty wall o’ monitors. As the cops make their way through the building, bullets fly like nobody’s business, and there are more bloody stabbings than any slasher movie I have ever seen. The audience barely has time to breathe before the next do-or-die situation is presented. But that’s only the first half of the movie.

Where “The Raid” goes from high gear to mind-numbingly awesome is when the kicking and punching start. Fans of Thai martial arts films like “Ong Bak” and “Chocolate” will love the matter-of-fact way these scenes are handled. There’s no flashy editing, no stylized camera moves. It really looks like it hurts, and the fights are some of the most unrelenting and eye-popping action scenes I’ve witnessed in a good while.

“The Raid” isn’t trying to show us something we’ve never seen before. Instead, its mission is to give us exactly what we want, leaving us wondering just how much we can take. The upcoming summer blockbuster season will be full of high-flying special effects and explosions, but I can guarantee that nothing is going to be able to do across the universe what “The Raid” manages to do in 33 floors of a broken-down crackhouse. Something tells me I’ll be looking for it again by the time September rolls around.

Four stars out of five. “The Raid” is currently playing at Beechwood Stadium 11 Cinemas on Alps Road.

Source : OnlineAthens.com

Bersaudara. Madagascar dan Kita.

Keanekaragaman budaya Indonesia ternyata tidak hanya dikenal di seluruh negara, tetapi budaya Indonesia berkontribusi bagi perkembangan budaya negara lain. Salah satunya adalah kebudayaan di Pulau Madagaskar yang terletak di Samudera Hindia.

Prof. Herawati Sudoyo, peneliti di Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, mengungkapkan fakta bahwa budaya asal yang dimiliki penduduk Madagaskar adalah budaya bangsa Indonesia.

“Pulau Madagaskar dihuni 1.200 tahun yang lalu oleh sekelompok kecil perempuan Indonesia. Saat itu sekitar 28 wanita Indonesia melakukan perjalanan ke Pulau Madagaskar. Mereka tinggal dan membangun budaya di sana,” ujar Herawati Sudoyo.

Ia menuturkan, terdapat banyak budaya asal Indonesia yang dikembangkan sebagai budaya asal Madagaskar. Diantaranya adalah, teknik bercocok tanam padi, pisang, dan umbi-umbian, serta teknik memproses besi. Wujud budaya lainnya yaitu instrumen musik seperti gamelan, dan adanya kapal bercadik.

“Kontribusi budaya yang dibawa oleh sekelompok kecil perempuan Indonesia, masih berlangsung dan mendominasi bangsa Madagaskar sampai detik ini,” tuturnya.

Prof. Herawati beserta tiga orang peneliti lain asal New Zealand, Arizona, dan Perancis telah melakukan penelitian sejak tahun 2005 untuk menjawab misteri nenek moyang penduduk Madagaskar. Hasil yang diperoleh cukup mengejutkan, nenek moyang asli penduduk Madagaskar adalah perempuan asal Indonesia yang berlayar ke Madagaskar 1.200 tahun silam.

“Penelitian yang kita lakukan adalah melalui pencocokan DNA, yaitu 2.745 DNA penduduk Indonesia dengan 266 penduduk asal Madagaskar. Walau hasilnya sudah diperoleh, tapi baru DNA yang wanitanya, kami harus juga melakukan pencocokan DNA pada pria Indonesia dan Madagaskar,” ungkapnya.

(Detiknews)