FESTIVAL SINEMA AUSTRALIA INDONESIA 2023 IN MATARAM
MATARAM, BTNp: FEATURING stand-out films from Australia and Indonesia, this year’s Australia Indonesia Cinema Festival (FSAI) is back in theatres in Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Mataram, Yogyakarta, Bandung and South Tangerang from 24 February to 18 March 2023.
The Australian Consul-General for Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Anthea Griffin, was in Lombok this weekend to open the 2023 FSAI in Mataram City.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Kadis Kominfo dan Statistik Prov. NTB, Dr. Najamuddin Amy, S.Sos., M.M. who represented and delivered remarks from the Governor of NTB and, together with Consul- General Griffin, officially opened the 2023 FSAI in Mataram, Lombok. In his remarks, he expressed NTB Government’s appreciation to the Australian Government for holding the festival in Mataram City again this year.
“With more than 3,000 creative businesses in Australia’s film industry, and with Indonesia’s rapidly growing film sector, we want this festival to create opportunities for new collaborations to flourish”, said Consul-General Anthea Griffin in her opening remarks.
In Mataram, this year’s festival was held from 25 – 26 February 2023 at CGV Transmart Cinemas and featured five films. The festival opened with the screening of the award-winning film Sweet As – an uplifting coming-of-age movie about unconventional friendships, first crushes and finding who you are on the road less travelled.
Aside from film screenings, FSAI 2023 in Mataram also featured a ‘Character Driven Story Telling’ masterclass led by Steve Rodgers, an Australian actor and one of the screenwriters for Sweet As. Other Australian films screened in Mataram included the biographic film Penguin Bloom, the heart- warming drama Moon Rock for Monday, and the animated comedy Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, which was co-produced by Australian animation studio Animal Logic.
FSAI 2023 also featured a film produced by Australian alumna Mira Lesmana, the homecoming story Humba Dreams. 2023 also marks the 70th anniversary of Australia’s scholarship program in Indonesia.
To mark this milestone year, the Australian Embassy and Consulates-General will be hosting a variety of events to celebrate the achievements of our existing alumni, and to promote the Australian Global Alumni program to a new generation of scholars. *BTNewspaper
