Deckchair Cinema Opening Night
A volcanic eruption and a lost Costa Rican holiday sound like a recipe for some serious holiday blues. But for Deckchair Cinema general manager Alice Body, getting stuck in Bali when Mt Agung filled the sky with smoke became a way to immerse herself in the Indonesian film industry.
By Tamara Howie
Body said goodbye to her initial holiday plans in Central America and island-hopped from Bali to Java to go to the Jogjakarta Asian Film Festival with Deckchair colleague Blandine Ruffo.
“I feel like we’ve got a big Indonesian community in Darwin and they’re our closest neighbour so it was an excellent opportunity to start building some ties between the Darwin Film Society and the Indonesian film community,” she says.
“The film festival gave us access to the actors and directors and all the films, and I thought these films are actually incredible.”
The unplanned trip inspired Body to put on a mini Indonesian film festival at the Deckchair Cinema to kick off the year, with four films over three nights.
“We had already been thinking about increasing our programming of films from neighbouring nations and recognising ourselves as part of our region,” she says.
“We just thought ‘well, we’re in the Asia Pacific’ and part of that is showcasing the best of this region and being more self aware of our diverse community, it’s about making sure people feel welcome at Deckchair.”
Once all the deckchairs are lined back up and the possums welcomed back, the first program kicks off with Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts written by Indonesia film legend Garin Nugroho and directed by Mouly Surya.
WED 18 – FRI 20 APR | 7.30PM |GATES 6PM | DECKCHAIR CINEMA | $16 | $12 CONC | $10 MEMB | $35 FAM (2 ADU, 2 KIDS)
