Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku

SCREENINGS

Thursday, 03.10., 2.15 pm, kommkino
Friday, 04.10., 6.30 pm, Caritas-Pirckheimer-Haus

Juno is just a child when his father abandons him in their village of Center Java. Alone now, he joins a Lengger dance center where men shape their feminine appearance and movement. But the sensuality and sexuality that come from dance and bodies, mixed with the violent social and political Indonesian environment, force Juno to move from village to village. Even if on this journey Juno receives attention and love from his dance teachers, his weird aunty, his old uncle, a handsome boxer and a Warok, he still has to face by himself the battlefield that his body is becoming.
In its home country of Indonesia, MEMORIES OF MY BODY was banned from Cinemas due to its gay content.
Director’s Statement
A film is a personal statement or expression of anxiety about the surrounding personal and socio-political issues. The joy of making a movie comes when it succeeds to deliver such messages. I have made 18 films containing various themes; from early 19th century as a backdrop to the present Indonesia; from Islamic radicalism, economic liberalism, to the country’s communist pogrom; all condensed in little stories from various islands in Indonesia. This time, I am very interested in the issue of masculinity and femininity merged in a person’s body. Having a body that is both masculine and feminine has been a very sensitive issue in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

GARIN NUGROHO

Garin Nugroho was born in Indonesia in 1961 and studied at the Film Academy in Jakarta. He has built up an impressive body of work with features, documentaries and shorts. Nugroho also works as a film critic for several Indonesian newspapers and as a lecturer at the University of Indonesia. In 1999, IFFR opened with his feature Leaf on a Pillow and since then, most of his films have screened in Rotterdam. His film Opera Jawa was screened at several film festivals, including IFFR and the Venice and Toronto film festivals. In 2017, Memories of My Body was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

FILMOGRAPHY

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