“For 500 years the ancient tales of Nusantara has been lost to the corruption of western narratives. Now we are rediscovering our roots and learning that the seas that separates us are the very conduit that unites us.”
“So, if you are looking for a hitherto undiscovered civilization of great originators, who made it on their own, separate from any of the ones we already know, you are not looking for a needle in a haystack. You are looking for something more like a city in its hinterland. What you are looking for is a vast region which occupied a land area at least a couple of thousand miles across. This is a landmass as big as the Gulf of Mexico, or twice the size of Madagascar. It would have had major mountain ranges, huge river systems and a Mediterranean to sub-tropical climate which was buffered by its latitude from the adverse effects of short-term climate cooling. [...]
During our film programme (1+RE)DISCOVER at Iskarnival weeks ago, we asked Minut Init‘s Dali Abdul Azis to helm a special segment titled “Newsantara”. He was tasked to curate a selection of videos sourced from video-streaming platforms and write something that will help us gain a little more insight into the Nusantara. But unlike the short essay Wendi submitted on the cinema of the region, Dali’s sent in a conversation which pieces together an understanding of the Nusantara from the perspective of a European traveler. We hope you enjoy this piece.
It brings us great joy to welcome back Wendi Sia for (1+RE)DISCOVER, our literally do-or-die thing happening at Mall of Medini in Nusajaya next weekend. Having curated a selection of films for the program in collaboration with The Daily Seni, Wendi will chart this journey through modern nusantara filmmaking via PANJANG (which includes Brunei’s first commercial film Ada Apa Dengan Rina and complex Indonesian treasure Melancholy Is A Movement) and PENDEK (short films galore). In the meantime, enjoy a glimpse of the magic with this teaser from Wendi.