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In those desperate times when love hurts, the jilted will go far for revenge, including seeking out a little black magic. After all, as the saying goes, “Cinta ditolak, dukun bertindak.” (“When love is turned down, the shaman will act.”)

The agony of love has inspired director Andri Cung and producer Edward Gunawan to create a short film, “Merindu Mantan” (“Revenge”), which centers on love and a broken heart out for vengeance.

“The story was written by Ve Handojo, and when I read it, I found something touching about it. It made my heart jump as I dug more into it,” said Andri, referring to one of the country’s prominent film and TV drama script writers.

“The black magic was not the main reason why I wanted to film the story, but as a whole, the script is extraordinary. It offers a lot of challenges to me as a new filmmaker in translating it into a short movie.”

The short tells the tale of Asih, a naive country girl betrayed by her boyfriend, Joni. After losing her virginity to him, he deserts her for another woman. Anguished, she takes a shortcut as she tries to get even, and it’s a route that could turn deadly.

“Andri and I have always been interested in supernatural and mystical stuff,” Edward said. “Especially me, after being away from the country for more than 10 years, I’m curious about the mystical elements of Indonesia. After all, black magic is something that can only be found in a few places in the world, including here.”

The film features three emerging young actors, Aimee Saras (Asih), Rangga Djoned (Joni) and Novita Savitri (the other woman). It was filmed in less than 24 hours at a house in Depok. As simple as it may seem to put together a 10-minute movie, the filming was not without challenges.

“There was some technical, creepy stuff that happened during the filming, from the sudden heavy rain to a power outage,” Edward said. “The weird thing was the power came back on after we finished the [black magic scene] shoot with Aimee.”

For the bubbly Aimee, playing her part was far from easy. “Asih is very naive and pure. She has never really dealt with love before, and suddenly she has to deal with her broken heart,” said Aimee, who is also the host of Metro TV’s “After Hours.”

“There’s not much dialogue, but more about emotional expression and body language. Her character is lonely and sorrowful, which made it very challenging for me as an upbeat person to play the part. Plus, I have to wear kebaya and act without any makeup on to show Asih’s ordinariness. The one thing Asih and I have in common is that we’re both superstitious.”

Aimee has worked with the filmmaking duo before, as the soundtrack singer of “Payung Merah” (“Red Umbrella”). The Javanese actress also has theatrical experience, including a part in an off-Broadway play, “Miss Saigon,” in New York, and a leading role in the stage production “Onrop!” by noted director Joko Anwar.

“When Aimee’s name came up, I immediately thought, ‘She’s the one,’ ” Andri said. “This is a very Indonesian movie about a brokenhearted Indonesian woman with a very strong Javanese background. I think she has the beauty and the aura for the character.”

As for Rangga, he gets to play a womanizer whose goal in life is to conquer every woman.

“Asih lost her virginity to this guy, and that was the goal of the relationship in the first place for Joni: to take her virginity,” Andri said. “One of the reasons why I picked him to play the character is because he’s got the face of a jerk.”

Rangga is an award-winning actor whose acting career includes a leading role in feature films “Dilemma” and “18+.” He won the Best Male Newcomer Award at the 2011 Indonesian Movie Awards for his role in “7 Hearts, 7 Loves, 7 Women.”

“I’ve always been interested in working with Aimee, especially after seeing her in ‘Onrop!’ I think she’s really talented and she has the charisma,” Edward said. “I have known Rangga for two years now. We have always wanted to do a project together, and this is the perfect time for that. In a way, I picked this project for Aimee and Rangga.”

“As an actor, I’m honored to work with filmmakers who are passionate and professional like Andri and Edward,” Rangga said.

“Merindu Mantan,” according to Andri, is not a typical horror flick. It has no ghost scenes and no overwhelmingly frightening moments.

In fact, from the technical side, “the movie is very soft and feminine. It isn’t supposed to scare the viewers, but to move them with the loneliness, pain and grief of the characters,” he said.

“Merindu Mantan” is expected to be screened in February and will be sent to several film festivals. If the response is positive, Andri and Edward plan to make a longer version of the film.

“The movie is about a broken heart. I think everybody must have gone through it at one point in their lives, and in one way or another, people will be able to relate,” Edward said.

“Merindu Mantan” (“Revenge”)
2012, HD, 10 Minutes
In Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles
Add Word Productions
www.addwordproductions.com