The resort island of Bali wants to become known as a filmmaker's paradise. (Photo: Jonathan Drake, Bloomberg)

Balinale Festival Aims to Wow With Island Charm

With its idyllic beaches, tropical jungle and terraced hillsides, Bali makes the perfect film location — even if many people don’t know it.

Setting things straight is the six-day Balinale International Film Festival, which opens on the island on Oct. 20.

The festival, which is celebrating its third year, was established with the aim of putting Bali, and the rest of the country, on the international filmmaking map and calendar.

“[In 2007] Indonesia was not quite on the map of the filmmaking world,” said Deborah Gabinetti, founder and director of the festival.

“Our goal is to invite people [from the international filmmaking community] to come here,” she said. “[Indonesia] is definitely untapped.”

Balinale welcomes a broad array of films from both foreign and Indonesian moviemakers, including new talents who are encouraged to make use of the festival’s discussions, seminars and workshops to baby their work through.

And if the right person sees their film, they might just get their big break.

“These programs are offered free-of-charge to fledgling filmmakers and students,” Gabinetti said. “[The programs] also allow them opportunities for networking and gaining possible employment within the industry.”

Twenty-five movies from 13 countries were selected for this year’s Balinale, out of about 70 entries.

They are divided into three categories: features, documentaries and shorts.

Many of the films have not been shown in mainstream cinemas here, including the offbeat Indian hit “Kanchivaram,” which tells of a silk weaver’s promise to give his daughter a silk sari for her wedding; “Tokyo Sonata,” the story of a Japanese family of four that crumbles after the father loses his job; and “Oh My God,” a British documentary that asks people from different walks of life what God means to them.

Other documentaries include “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” which traces the life of the Italian fashion designer, “Still Bill,” a biographical film about the soul singer Bill Withers, and “Princess of Africa,” which chronicles the intersecting journeys of Marem, a Senegalese dancer who wants to migrate to Europe, and Sonia, a Spanish dancer who’s attracted by the magic of Africa.

There are 10 short films being shown, three of which are by Indonesian directors.

Opening the festival will be the animated film “Mary and Max,” made by the Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam Elliot, which tells the story of an ongoing friendship between pen-pals Mary Dinkle, an 8-year-old girl living in an Australian suburb, and Max Horovitz, a 44-year-old Jewish man who struggles with Asperger’s Syndrome and the chaos of life in New York City

Gabinetti said the 80-minute animated film was selected because of its richness in life lessons.

“The message is simple, yet so honest and powerful in the way it examines cultural, religious and individual differences,” she said. “It’s truly an international film.”

The film, which uses stop-motion animation, was selected for its “witty humor and innovative techniques, with its unique and complex attention to detail,” Gabinetti said. “Each two and a half minutes of animation took one week to create, spanning over five years and 50 crew members.”

At last year’s event, filmmaker Stan Wlodkowski, who produced “One Hour Photo,” “In the Valley of Elah” and the Oscar-winning “American Beauty,” was one of the guest speakers. Gabinetti said Wlodkowski, who is British, had been invited to the festival partly to introduce him to Bali as a film location.

His new movie, titled “Eat, Pray, Love,” is set in Italy, India and Bali, and the Bali scenes are scheduled to be filmed on the island this month.

One of this year’s guest speakers is British filmmaker Davina Belling, whose career in motion pictures began more than three decades ago.

Belling is the producer of acclaimed movies such as “Britannia Hospital,” “Other People’s Money” and “I Am David.” She is also the producer of the British TV series “The Giblet Boys,” which won the BAFTA Children’s Award in 2005.

Speaking via e-mail, Belling said she would be speaking on the trials and tribulations of producing, and what makes a good screenplay and how to pitch it.

“So many writers do not know how to sell their own stories,” she said.

Belling said she knows “very little” about the Indonesian film industry, but sees this as “an opportunity to learn more.”

“If it is like other [festivals] I have been to [around the world], there should be a great atmosphere, because I sense [Balinale] is a festival to celebrate film, rather than a market place for film,” Belling said.

She said one factor that had lured her to this year’s festival was the island itself.

“I recall its beauty, both of the people and the surroundings,” said Belling, who has visited Indonesia before.

“Bali was the first place where I saw whole villages devoted to one particular art form,” she said.

“Who wouldn’t want to come to such a beautiful location?”

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