Press Room
Sunday 21st September 2003 | Media
US-ASEAN film festival takes aim at region's terror slur
Agence France Presse
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (AFP) - If life imitates art, a new Southeast Asian film and photography festival here will help cleanse the region's image, stained for many Americans by a string of bloody bombings and terrorist plots.
The first ASEAN-US Film, Video and Photography festival in Washington next week seeks to paint Southeast Asia as a pageant of color, culture and beauty.
Through their single lenses, exhibiting filmakers and photographers hope to counter what organisers say is a region slurred by its depiction in the international media as a breeding ground for terror.
But they admit they have a stiff task.
Once seen here as an exotic paradise, Southeast Asia now struggles with more sinister associations following the Bali bombing last year which killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists, and the blast at the US-run JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in August.
Reports of new al-Qaeda-related plots in Thailand and the ordeals of Americans kidnapped by Muslim rebels in the Philippines, have also dented the region's reputation.
Terrorist acts have "burnt into the consciousness of many Americans the impression of Southeast Asia as a breeding ground for a new generation of murderous extremists," said Jasmine Wibisono, co-organiser of the September 27-28 event.
The objective is to reshape the image of the region in the United States," said Wibisono, who fled Indonesia with her family when her father, a democratic activist incurred the wrath of former dictator Suharto.
Festival co-founder, filmmaker Karina Lee Sudyatmiko, from Jakarta, said the festival was born from a compulsion to reveal a true picture of Southeast Asia, distinct from cliches born in the US campaign against global terrorism.
"We cannot compete with the mass media," she said.
"But we are thinking that at least we have to do something, and we hope that it can make things better for Southeast Asia."
Exhibitors are all from Southeast Asia, or are foreigners who have produced portfolios based on the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries.
The showpiece event is a film festival featuring more than 30 experimental movies, shorts, documentaries and narratives.
A special presentation will be "Ada Apa Dengan Cinta" ("What's up with Love?") a high school love story which was a box office smash in Indonesia in 2002. The movie reportedly outgrossed "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings" in the country's theaters.
Photographers displaying their work at the festival include Asian born artists as well as Americans who have become infatuated with the region.
The festival is endorsed by embassies from ASEAN embassies in the United States -- but Wibisono said that there was no political prohibition on artists or subjects viewed as subversive within member nations.
Financial support is drawn from bodies like the DC Independent Film Festival, Bali Film Commission and the United States-Indonesia society.
Asian corporations such as Lippo Bank, Bank Artha Graha and Raja Garuda Mas have also put up sponsorship money.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source:
Agence France Presse
About ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is comprised of ten countries in Southeast Asia, the region straddling continental Asia and Australia and bordering both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Diversity is a part of life for ASEAN's 575 million citizen who are more likely than not multi-lingual, living in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious community. ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Timor Leste, the only non-ASEAN member in Southeast Asia is a candidate for membership.
About UACP
US-ASEAN Creative Project (UACP) is the arm of GH Foundation to carry out its mission in promoting Southeast Asian culture and heritage. Since 2002, GH Foundation has organized various events in arts, entertainment, literature, and sports to raise awareness of the diverse cultures and traditions of Southeast Asia. Its flagship event, the US-ASEAN Film Festival, has been running annually since 2003. It was the first film festival to celebrate films from the region.
Contact Information
US-ASEAN Creative Project by GH Foundation
1701 16th Street NW Suite 218
Washington, DC 20009
USA
+1 (202) 262-3775
info@thegraceheritage.org
Join us on Facebook!