Movie Makers

In a striped T-shirt and cargo pants, bespectacled Awi Suryadi Musalim looks more like a college student than a filmmaker. In actuality, the 30-year-old civil engineer has spent the last three years learning the ropes of Indonesia’s film industry.

Awi first fell in love with motion pictures during his childhood in Lampung, South Sumatra, where his father oversaw the operation of several local cineplexes. “I grew up surrounded by all kinds of movies my father played at the theaters,” he says.

In 1996, Awi left his hometown to study abroad at California Polytechnic Institute.

“I wanted to study cinematography, unfortunately [at the time] the Indonesian movie business was in a state of mati suri (nearly dead). So my father gave me two options: business or engineering,” he recollects with a smile. “I chose engineering.”

Nevertheless, in his sophomore year, he was struck by the desire to make movies. For the next several years, he wrote screenplays in English as a hobby. He then made the bold move to offer his writing to some small production houses in Los Angeles.

“There had been some very promising developments,” he says, glancing proudly from behind his dark-rimmed glasses. “Unfortunately, that was when I decided to come home.”

Seven years following his departure to the U.S., Awi returned to Lampung and joined a major construction company. In 2004, together with actor/director Thomas Nawilis, who made his debut in Tusuk Jelangkung, Awi founded a production house based in Jakarta called 27Ant. A year later, they made their first movie, Gue Kapok Jatuh Cinta, a semi-autobiographical love story he wrote and co-directed with Thomas.

The result?

“It could have been better,” he admits with a shrug. “But I do think it gave me a good starting point. How else can you learn in this business if not by going out there and making films?”

Overall, the movie received some positive responses from the audience, though it was hardly a box office hit. But any self-respecting filmmaker knows better than to toss in the towel after a first so-so try.

“The practice of movie-making is very different from the theory,” he explains. “No one is going to teach you about how to deal with preman or how to haggle with vendors, especially when you’re under both time and financial constraints.”

Awi gathered his resources and got ready for his second movie. In collaboration with Nation Pictures in February 2008, 27Ant will release a romantic-comedy titled Claudia/Jasmine, which he wrote and directed. Though he is careful about being too optimistic, Awi says he is hopeful about the movie’s prospects.

“It’s a romantic-comedy with a twist,” he says. “I think people will enjoy it because it has a lot of funny scenes.”

Nevertheless, romantic-comedy is not what he ultimately wants to be remembered for in his career as a filmmaker. Asked about the kind of movie he dreams of making, Awi quickly blurts out: “Gangster movie”—action-packed, infused with a good family drama and an intriguing storyline. Godfather, anyone?

“Seriously,” he insists. “We’ve got Italian gangsters; Hong Kong gangsters; South American gangsters — why not Indonesian gangsters?” Then, he lets out a hearty laugh. “For now, though, I’ll make what the market wants to see. I’m not a hypocrite: I need the money.”

Claudia/Jasmine is the second movie Alwi has written and he says there are more where it came from. Next year, an animation film project is already in line, which tells the story of child superheroes—not unlike Pixar’s The Incredibles.

Now all he has to do is find investors, which leads to the issue of which is more important when it comes to making movies: talent or funding?

“I would say talent,” he says after pondering the question a while. “But talent alone won’t get you far in this business.” He is quiet for a moment, then adds, “I think you need both.”

As a movie-goer and a film director, Awi believes the local film industry is in a “worrisome” state despite the increase in movie production. Though he admits there have been several exceptional movies, he finds himself sitting through many second or even third-rate vehicles.

Asked if he would rather be considered a screenwriter or a film director, Awi replies, “Director. The only reason for me to start writing a screenplay is so I can direct it later.”

An admirer of Cameron Crowe’s work, he hopes to create more or less the same response as the movies which Crowe wrote and directed, such as Jerry Maguire. “Damn him!” he bursts out in laughter. “He manages to write ‘chick flicks’ that guys love, and we’re not even ashamed to admit it.”

A final question: If he weren’t making movies, would he be building bridges or constructing highways somewhere? He looks me straight in the eyes and replies firmly: “I can’t imagine doing something other than [making movies].”

* * * *

Monty Tiwa may look like the guy next door, but the electronic engineering graduate of the University of Kansas is the man behind such box-office hits such as Mendadak Dangdut, 9 Naga, Denias and, most recently, the Pocong trilogy.

Still half-dazed from a terrible cold, Monty shows up with a candy bar in one hand and an iPod in the other.

“I hope you’ll accept this chocolate bar as a token apology,” he says after arriving a few minutes late.

Sporting a moustache and a goatee, the 31-year-old screenwriter-cum-director is as chatty and humorous as the movies he writes, with the exception of the Pocong trilogy, which really is an experiment aimed at fulfilling the current market trend for horror movies.

“I used to write for a community blog,” he says when asked about how he came to the business of screenwriting. “Then, one day, by chance, a TransTV executive read my blog and offered me an opportunity to write for them.”

He became the creative writer and, eventually, director for some of Indonesia’s leading TV stations. However, there is more to Monty Tiwa than what he lets on.

Other than writing/directing some of the nation’s most beloved contemporary movies, he also writes catchy soundtracks (Biarkan Bintang Menari, Mendadak Dangdut, etc.) and edits numerous award-winning films (Juli di Bulan Juni, Ujung Pantry 2, Andai Ia Tahu, Vina Bilang Cinta, etc.)

Asked which profession he would most like to be associated with, Monty doesn’t think twice: “Writer.” He explains the only reason he wants to direct is to follow the progression of “his brainchild” beginning from its early conception to the moment it becomes a full-fledged movie, but that ultimately what he feels most comfortable doing is writing.

“There’s so much I want to say, in here,” he continues, pointing at the back of his head. “And sometimes it literally hurts unless I let it out on paper.”

As a self-taught screenwriter, Monty believes the best writing has to come from the heart. In comparison to how he learned the craft of directing, he believes that writers are born while directors are made.

“Directing is an accumulative process, the more you practice the better you are at it; writing, however, requires talent. If you don’t have it, you can’t do it,” he says.

Having observed the slow but sure resurrection of the Indonesian movie industry, Monty feels that, with the exception of several outstanding personalities, the industry is swarming with inexperienced, profit-minded filmmakers who churn out high-budget movies of low-quality stories replete with resoundingly bad acting.

“The filmmaking world today is like a jungle,” he says. “The only law that applies is survival of the fittest. Whether or not you’re a serious filmmaker, it all plays out in the jungle.”

Monty’s films are something new for local moviegoers accustomed to Western-themed love stories. Instead of following in Hollywood’s footsteps, he has decided to retrace the steps of Nya Abbas Akup, Teguh Karya and Deddy Mizwar.

“I don’t see myself as a reformer. I write movies that are close to the people’s hearts and lives because I think that’s what matters most. When I tried to sell the script of Mendadak Dangdut, a lot of people were skeptical of its ability to take off and, for a while it seemed like it wasn’t going to take off. But now, who doesn’t know the song Jablai?”

An admirer of Richard Curtis, Monty argues that the first function of a movie is to entertain its audience. “I am often stunned by critics who keep asking filmmakers to create something smart or educational,” he sighs. “It’s not our job.”

The same ideal propelled him to write and direct his latest comedy flick, Maaf, Saya Menghamili Istri Anda, which he says was somewhat influenced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore. “I wanted to make something utterly silly and stupid,” Monty says smiling. “It’s not educational, nor enlightening, but it’s hilarious.”

Before we go our separate ways, I ask him if he thinks of the last few years as the best time in his career. He ruminates for a minute, then says, “The best moment is yet to come.”

+ Maggie Tiojakin

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