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.”

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)

“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 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)

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

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)

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.

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

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

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)

But as of last Thursday, Magelang is also claiming a stake in the Indonesian fine-arts scene. The opening of the New Museum OHD (also known as the OHD III Museum) provides another connection between Borobudur and Yogyakarta, forming a golden triangle of sorts on the Indonesian arts map (an actual map reveals a rather odd-looking triangle).

The launch of the New Museum OHD marked the 73rd birthday of the museum’s owner and founder, Oei Hong Djien. Over two decades of accumulating approximately 2,000 paintings, sculptures, installation works and pottery, Oei has become one of the most influential art collectors and curators in the country. A large part of his collection adorns the walls and gardens of three buildings that make up the OHD museums.

“All of the items in Oei’s collection are of high quality,” said Helena Spanjaard, a Dutch art historian specializing in modern and contemporary Indonesian fine art who has written a book about Oei’s collection.

According to Letty Suryo, director of the New OHD Museum, the first two buildings, completed in 1997 and 2006, were designed as private museums around Oei’s residence.

“This third museum is part of an effort to promote [Indonesia’s] fine arts to the people of Indonesia, and also to the world,” she said.

Born in Magelang in 1939, Oei grew up in a family with a strong passion for fine art. Oei’s father was an art connoisseur and collector of paintings from Dutch and early Indonesian artists, which he displayed in the house where Oei grew up, planting the seeds of his blossoming zeal.

Oei graduated from the University of Indonesia’s School of Medicine in 1964, before attending Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands in 1968 to study a specialty.

His taste in art, however, followed a courtship with kitsch.

“I bought cheap paintings in the beginning and started to learn from them,” he said in a 2010 interview.

Oei’s taste in art, and his reputation, has grown by leaps and bounds since his early encounters with garish, gaudy paintings and reproductions.

He was an honorary adviser to the Singapore Art Museum before serving on its board. He was also a member of the board of directors of Art Retreat, a private museum in Singapore. He has curated several exhibitions and written numerous essays, forwards for exhibition catalogs and art books.

Prior to the opening of the new museum last week, Oei demonstrated his expertise by explaining nearly every item in his collection to a group of reporters and art enthusiasts, cracking jokes about the artists and roaring his familiar hearty laugh in the process.

The new OHD museum was formerly a tobacco storehouse, the interior of which has been revamped into post-industrial chicness, with high ceilings and an abundance of natural lighting reminiscent of Bauhaus, combining crafts and fine arts into architecture.

The large, red doors of the museum are guarded by depictions of Guan Gong, a legendary Chinese warrior knight, and Gatotkaca, a hero in Javanese mythology. The historic icons lead the way to a colorful scene in Hendra Gunawan’s “Cart Puller,” one of the many artworks on display.

Walking through the OHD I building, the group took in more than 120 artworks that bore the signatures of Indonesia’s art giants, including Affandi, Widayat and Hendra Gunawan. Sindudarsono Sudjojono and Soedibio are also on display.

A huge, white sculpture of a pair of eyeglasses sits on top of the first building, overlooking a simple garden decorated with smaller sculptures that leads to OHD II.

Minimalist in design, the second building is filled with around 100 art pieces, many of which are three-dimensional. Fingerprints of the likes of Tisna Sanjaya, Agus Suwage, Nasirun and S. Teddy Darmawan give the space a contemporary spirit.

The third building is located near Magelang’s Pecinan, or Chinatown, and is only a few minutes’ walk from the other two museums.

Silvery, embossed sculptures of macabre objects cover nearly the entire black wall of the main facade, hinting at the new museum’s unique ambience. The entrance corridor leads to a quirky patch showcasing creatively designed slabs of concrete that form the garden’s paths.

In one corner of this yard, and resembling the rest of the concrete slabs, is a rusty, iron square complete with dismantled parts of a bicycle, onto which is carved a famous quotation by Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bike. To stay balanced, you have to keep moving.”

When asked to describe the new museum in one word, Oei’s response seemed to echo Einstein’s words.

“Passion!” he exclaimed. “Things keep moving when you have passion. When there’s passion, everything finds its way.”

It has certainly been an unrelenting passion that has allowed Oei to collect renowned works by many of Indonesia’s greatest modern fine artists and to put them together in the New OHD Museum.

Oei calls the collection “Back to Basics,” and it is scheduled to be on display until July before a rotation of the three museums’ items takes place.

“I would like to show my greatest appreciation to all Indonesian artists, especially those in the fine arts, by opening another museum,” Oei said. “Hopefully all Indonesians, as well as foreigners, can delight in Indonesia’s amazing works of fine art the way I have.”

OHD Museums
OHD Museum I and II: Jl. P. Diponegoro 74, Magelang, Central Java
New OHD Museum: Jl. Jenggolo 14, Magelang, Central Java

taken from The Jakarta Globe

The results astounded her. After three days of taking only one-third of the prescribed dose of herbal pills, the pain had vanished, making her wonder if she’d found “the magic bullet of all time.”

Jane-Beers spent the next decade researching the origins, myths, tightly guarded recipes and commercial applications of herbal medicine in Java, where plants have been used for medicinal purposes since prehistory. Her 2001 opus Jamu: The Ancient Art of Herbal Healing remains the only definitive English guide on the subject. It’s also the most widely read outside Indonesia since Herbarium Amboinense, a catalog of plants completed by German botanist Georg Rumphius in 1690 — more than three centuries earlier.

A holistic therapy based on the notion that if disease comes from nature, then so must the cure, jamu uses a dazzling array of teas, tonics, pills, creams and powders to cure — or prevent — every ailment imaginable. The ingredients are by definition cheap, widely available and simple: nutmeg to treat insomnia, guava for diarrhea, lime to promote weight loss and basil to counter body odor.

Jamu has also been used to treat cancer. In her book, Jane-Beers writes of a traditional healer in the city of Jogjakarta who apparently cured what had been diagnosed as a terminal case of cervical cancer with a tea made of betel nut, Madagascar Periwinkle and mysterious benala leaves. By combining the tea with a strict soybean diet, the patient was said to have made a full recovery in 18 months.

Sound far-fetched? A 2011 study by Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology on the soursop tree — whose leaves are used to relieve gout and arthritis in Indonesia — found evidence showing that extracts from soursop fruit inhibit the growth of human breast cancer. Vincristine, one of 70 useful alkaloids identified in Madagascar Periwinkle, radically ups the survival rate of children with leukemia, while turmeric is being looked at as a treatment for Alzheimer’s.

“Western medicine tries to destroy cancer, but at the same time it destroys elements of the body. Jamu helps the body produce its own antibodies to fight the cancer by itself,” says Bryan Hoare, manager at MesaStila, a wellness retreat in central Java that serves jamu shots with breakfast and employs a tabib, or indigenous healer, for private consultations. “Coming from the earth, jamu also makes you feel good. When you take it you experience a positive feeling.”

But if jamu is the magic bullet, why isn’t it better known in the West, where natural Asian medicines like India’s ayurvedic system and Chinese herbal healing have been growing in popularity for years?

The answer can be found on the streets of Indonesia, where jamu is consumed regularly by 49% of the population, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. Valued at $2.7 billion annually, the industry covers an incredibly wide gamut of products and regimens, including homemade tonics sold by street hawkers, slimming powders, cosmetics and jamu for babies and postnatal care. Yet the best sellers in terms of value are invariably the dodgiest: those claiming to boost sexual performance or suppress appetite.

“Indonesians may well have been amused when Viagra was released in 1998,” Jane-Beers says, noting the popularity of brands like Kuat Lekali (Strong Man), Kuku Bima (Nail of God) and Super Biul Erection Oil. “They have had their own remedies for years.”

Then there’s the association between jamu and white magic. Many indigenous healers insist on dispensing jamu on auspicious dates or in conjunction with animist spells that predate the arrival of Islam in the archipelago.

Mbah Ngatrulin, a Buddhist tabib I met in Ngadas, the highest village in Java, told me that spells are the key and that jamu may as well be “mineral water.” It’s the kind of comment that prevents many physicians across Southeast Asia from endorsing jamu lest patients take them for quacks.

According to Charles Saerang, head of the Indonesian Jamu Entrepreneurs Association, the primary impediment to a worldwide jamu craze is that locally produced jamu products don’t meet international manufacturing standards. That hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from buying raw herbal materials in Indonesia, processing them in India and Malaysia and selling them in the U.K. — a market Indonesian-made jamu products can’t access. That’s a double whammy for Indonesia, which loses out on value added by third parties and the chance to promote the jamu brand name abroad.

It’s impossible to say when, or even if, jamu painkillers will be stocked at supermarkets and convenience stores in countries like the U.K. Yet inroads are already being made by small businesses like the Origin Spa in Melbourne. There, highly skilled practitioners apply massage techniques developed by 16th century Indonesian royalty — the founders of modern jamu— using creams and oils containing turmeric, betel leaves and crushed eggshells. There’s a minimum two-month waiting list for Origin’s five-day post-pregnancy treatment that is said to help women regain their figures quickly, improve lactation and dispel wind, dizziness and aches and pains.

“It’s surprisingly popular with the Asian mums throughout Australia,” says partner Jessica Koh. “But it’s still unfamiliar to most of the locals.”

— With reporting by Theo Manday / Ngadas

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107489,00.html#ixzz1rWR9XrLy

Web users can visit googleartproject.com to see around 100 pieces of art, including traditional Indonesian batiks and artifacts from the Sultanates of ancient Indonesia, like the Kutai Kingdom in East Kalimantan.

The Web site features high-resolution images of the pieces and explains their cultural significance. Users can also view a map pinpointing where in Indonesia each item originated from.

For some of the works featured — like Mega Mendung batik cloth, which shows a Chinese influence — users can even view a video explaining how they were made.

The site provides insight into Indonesia’s diverse cultures and traditions by featuring the subtle differences in motif and technique evident in batiks created from one region to the next.

Viewers can also learn about the varieties of keris , or traditional daggers, from different parts of the country.

Also featured on the site are statues and sacred objects used in ceremonies and healing rituals, some still practiced today.

The Google Art project is a global partnership between Google and 151 cultural institutions in 40 countries that aims to make artwork accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The Acropolis museum in Greece, along with some other participating institutions, offers users a virtual three-dimensional tour of the actual museum.

Google Art Project launched in February 2011 with about 1,000 artworks from such institutions as the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Uffizi in Florence and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

“From now on anyone can visit these great institutions with just the click of a mouse,” Google president Margo Georgiadis said. “This project breaks down all of the barriers and allows people to study art in a seamless way.”

Deputy Director of STPB, Anang Sutono, explained, that for the first step, the Research Center will release 25 sets of Indonesia’s best menus to include appetizers, entrees, and desserts. The sets will be the result of identification of various traditional cuisines in the country, that will be tastefully and elegantly presented to meet international standards. “The taste itself will not be altered, only food presentations will be re-invented to meet global demand”, added Anang.

The Culinary Research Center aims to make Indonesian Cuisine an inseparable part of the top products to promote Indonesia’s Cultural diversity in the International world, thereby strengthening Indonesia’s culinary competitiveness in the international scene” added Anang as quoted from Kompas.com.

Cooperating with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Research Center in the cool mountain city of Bandung, in West Java, may also recommend menus at official banquets at the State Palace, presenting various traditional cuisines.”Official state banquets should represent the character of Indonesia through menus of traditional cuisines”, suggested Anang.

Aside from the technical aspects, the research center will also delve into the philosophical meanings behind every menu to reveal their cultural and historical aspects.

According to Anang, the Culinary Research Center is expected to start operating in December 2012. With close cooperation between academic institutions, the government, culinary associations and businesses, Anang is optimistic that Indonesian cuisine can go global and eventually become one of the icons to represent Indonesia in the International world.
Among the world’s top dishes, CNN viewers have last year chosen Indonesia’s Rendang, Nasi Goreng and Satay among their top favorites.

Source:Kompas.com, indonesia.travel
Photo Courtesy: Kompas.com

The 25-year-old triumphed over famous international stars in two categories — best singer and best fashion — in an award that honors influential people on social media sites.

The multitalented artist flew to the US to receive the award.

Her more than 3 million loyal followers on Twitter seem to have helped the song siren secure the votes in the competition, with the awards announced Monday night in New York.

“Thx Tweez for the support! Thx Shorty Awards,” she tweeted to her fans from @agnezmo.

The star also shared a photo of her holding the trophy.

The Jakarta Post

Gelaran festival musik jazz kembali digelar di JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta pada tanggal 2-4 Maret 2012 dengan tajuk “where jazz finds a home” ini mendatangkan lebih dari 1500 artis, mulai dari artis lokal hingga internasional ternama seperti Dave Koz, Al Jerrau, Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock hingga Stevie Wonder.

Jakarta International Mild Java Jazz Festival 2012 sukses menghibur para penggemar musik jazz di Indonesia. Dave Koz membawa kesan tersendiri bagi penonton, selain itu ia juga menceritakan kesan-kesannya terhadap Indonesia di sela-sela konsernya, mulai dari makanan, budaya hingga orang Indonesianya.

Dave Koz, artis jazz asal Amerika Serikat ini mengatakan, “it’s been a long time without love from indonesian people” ujarnya. “i love your food, culture and you have a beautiful country and Bali, and i love nasi goreng” sambungnya disambut dengan tawa dari penonton.

Awal konser dimulai dengan lantunan lembut saxophone-nya yang membawakan lagu Ada Band, Manusia Bodoh yang dimedley dengan lagu dari Ruth Sahanaya yang berjudul, Aku Cinta Kepadamu.

Sepanjang konser, Dave Koz tidak hentinya membuat penonton tertawa. “you guys know i’m not a singer like Tompi, Ayu Tingting or Briptu Norman” guyon Dave Koz. Bahkan ketika akan membawakan salah satu lagunya, ia menirukan gaya Syahrini, “This song is sesuatu banget” dengan logatnya yang terbata-bata mengucapkan kata “sesuatu”.

Tidak hanya sampai disitu, ia juga mengajak musisi jalanan asal Bandung, 57kustik untuk satu panggung dengan Dave Koz membawakan  lagunya “You Make Me Smile.”  Riuh tepuk tangan penonton semakin membahana ketika 57kustik menampilkan aksi solo mereka bermain biola, gitar dan perkusi. Saya salut, karena bagi 57kustik sendiri ini merupakan kali pertama mereka tampil di panggung dan berhasil mengundang decak kagum penonton dan Dave Koz menutup konsernya dengan hits dari Michael Jackson, Dont Stop Till You Get Enough.

Tidak hanya Dave Koz, Stevie  Wonder yang menjadi sajian utama acara itu pun tidak kalah luar biasa. Ia membawa keyboard putih dan memberi aba-aba yang langsung disambung lagu “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”.

“Lagu ini adalah tentang sebuah hubungan. Apapun agamanya, musik dan cinta yang menyatukan kita. Bagaimana kamu menunjukkan cinta dengan mencintai sesama,” ucap Stevie.

Stevie kemudian memainkan keyboard sambil duduk untuk membawakan “The Way You Make Me Feel” yang merupakan salah satu hits dari raja pop, Michael Jackson, ia juga menunjukkan kelihaiannya memainkan harmonika di lagu “My Love is on Fire”. Suasana berubah menjadi syahdu saat Stevie membawakan lagu berjudul “You and I” dipadu dengan sorotan lembut lampu panggung.

Penampilan di puncak acara dari Stevie Wonder yang maksimal ini seakan menjadi penawar rindu bagi para penggemar jazz, acara yang berlangsung selama 3 hari berturut-turut itu pun sukses ditutup dengan penampilan luar biasa dari Stevie Wonder!

The action is brutal, bloody and virtually nonstop in this adrenaline-packed riff on “Assault on Precinct 13.’’

The setup is simple: An armed police squad — including some unfortunately undertrained recruits — is ordered to raid a building that’s long been the stronghold of the untouchable drug lord Tama (Ray Sahetapy).

Our hero Rama (charismatic Iko Uwais) is immediately suspicious that his men have gained entry to the building so easily.

And he quickly begins to have doubts about the corrupt veteran cop who’s leading the raid, Lt. Wahyu (Pierre Gruno).

Wahyu seems relatively unsurprised — and unconcerned — that Rama’s men immediately come under heavy machine-gun fire from Tama’s army of drug dealers, who extract heavy casualties.

There’s no time to worry about who set up the cops as Rama, Wahyu and a couple of other survivors fight their way, floor by floor, to Tama’s lair in the penthouse.

It’s filled with monitors providing camera-eye views of every corner of the building, as well as helpfully equipped with a public-address system to issue threats.

Aside from the odd knife fight and torture scene, most of the film is devoted to Rama and his colleagues in hand-to-hand (and foot-to-groin) combat with Tama’s brutal henchmen Andi (Doni Alamsyah) and Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian).

It’s not for the faint of heart, nor the weak of stomach — especially when a fluorescent light bulb is used as a weapon. There is one especially suspenseful sequence where a bad guy uses a machete to probe a wall behind which two of the cops are hiding.

While there are several modes of fighting employed, the dominant martial-arts combat on display is an especially brutal local variety known as silat.

The sound effects are terrific, and the North American release is equipped with a new score by Linkin Park.

“The Raid: Redemption’’ has a couple of neat plot twists and a bit more characterization than you’d expect from this kind of film. But mostly it’s an action lover’s dream par excellence. In addition to that American remake, two sequels are also in the works.

 Lou Lumenick at blog movies

Read more: http://www.nypost.com

Tim has recently been cast in the series I Love you, which is TV series collaborated between Korea and Indonesia. The singer-actor is currently busy shooting scenes for the series in Seoul, and later he is scheduled to take part in the shooting in Indonesia.

A source from Tim’s agency says, “Tim is set to be active in Asia with the base he’s been establishing in Indonesia. He’s ready to promote his work as a singer as well as an actor.”

The source added. “He’s planning to extend his domain to different Asian countries with a kick-off in Indonesian showbiz.

The series, consisting of 30 episodes, is adapted and produced by Indonesian director Noto. Also, it is slated to be air through an Indonesian major TV channel starting from March 7 at 9:00 p.m. which is a prime time.

Tim appears in the series as Young Min, who is a top K-Pop singer and plays opposite of a top Indonesian actress. Young Min visits Indonesia in order to figure out the misunderstanding about his dead mom, and goes through various happenings.

“We fully agree with the aspiration that dangdut should be recognized as part of Indonesia’s heritage. Therefore, we need to go all out to fulfill all the necessary requirements in the [application] process,” Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said Saturday as quoted by Antara.

He was speaking before the national meeting of the Indonesia Dangdut-Melayu Artists Association in Surabaya, East Java. He said he was optimistic that the global organization would accept the proposal since dangdut music was heard only in this country.

He suggested all stakeholders should consult with relevant parties, including the Education and Culture Ministry, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Office of the Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister, regarding the plan.

“To strengthen its continued existence, the world must acknowledge this music,” he said.

First popularized by one of the country’s most influential musical figures,Rhoma Irama in the 1970s, dangdut went on to become one of the most popular schools of music in the country. Essentially, dangdut is a fusion of traditional Indian music and pop music. (iwa/dic)

taken from The Jakarta Post

Infinite Frameworks merupakan buah usaha gigih seorang warga Indonesia, Mike Wiluan. sekitar tahun 2005, lelaki ini menangkap perkembangan tren animasi di Asia Tenggara cukup pesat. Tak mau kehilangan kesempatan, Mike yang memiliki latar belakang sutradara lepas dan produser film di Inggris kemudian mengambil alih studio post produksi Singapura dan mendirikan studio sendiri di Batam. studio inilah yang kini dikenal dengan Infinite Frameworks.

Mike memilih Indonesia untuk mengembangkan studionya karena keberadaan sumber daya manusia yang melimpah di tanah air. benar saja, hingga sekarang, Mike berhasil mempekerjakan banyak animator Indonesia untuk membuat berbagai karya animasi yang terkenal di dunia. sebut saja Sing To The Dawn atau Meraih Mimpi, dan Tatsumi, film animasi berlatarbelakang kehidupan Jepang yang telah diputar dalam festival film Cannes dan meraih box office di Singapura.

sumber: Intisari Extra

ditulis ulang di Good News from Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com / @farafit)