Kota Kinabalu: Two films related to the Indigenous Peoples will be screened at the 14th Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF), at the City Cineplex, at the City Mall shopping centre, here, this evening (Monday).
The first movie is “Tinalangan” (Taken), a short film from Sabah directed by Jainie Jaibin.
The film tells a story based on an actual occurrence when a young Tobilung man disappears in the forest.
The people say that he has ventured to another realm with the supernatural beings who co-exist with our world.
His wife consults a “bobolian” (spiritual leader) to get him back.
She performs a ceremony with the help of the “komburongoh” (sacred medium) that can communicate with the unseen and deities.
But after the young man’s body has been found, another ceremony, “Monoriuk”, is needed to bring his soul back.
Jainie Jaibin worked for eight years as an assistant cinematographer and a recording artist in Sabah.
She now runs a small production company that provides video and photography services.
The second film is “Mentawai – Souls of the Forest”, a documentary by German director Joo Peter.
The indigenous people of Mentawai, a small group of islands southwest of Sumatra, are fighting with creative resistance to preserve their ancient culture and the rainforest where they live.
After 30 years of democratisation in Indonesia, Jakarta enforces deforestation in Mentawai.
In collaboration with investigative journalist Febrianti and indigenous foundations, the film portrays the indigenous culture, showing its history and resistance to the most recent geopolitical developments in Indonesia’s growing environmental degradation.
Now, logging companies threaten the fragile ecosystem of the islands.
The cinematic and compassionate camera conveys an intimate and sensual experience of indigenous life on Mentawai with its beauty and vulnerability.
Three shamans are the main characters in the film, hunter-gatherers in a culture that predates even traditions of weaving or pottery but full of archaic traditions with their complexity.
Rare historical footage and archive materials open the decades of oppression the tribes have faced – and viewers can also see their resilience, with the younger generation joining the main characters in their fight to preserve their environment and culture.
The project was an indigenous initiative. Martison Siritoitet from the Indigenous Foundation and Suku Mentawai invited Peter to Mentawai, starting a long collaboration that included the Mentawai Indigenous Education Programme.
Meanwhile, KKIFF 2023’s opening night on Saturday was warmly celebrated by film enthusiasts and members of the filmmaking community.
Shows start at 8pm this evening, and tickets can be obtained online via kkiff.com or the cinema ticket counter.
