I got the chance to watch Indonesia, In Between (Remix), the Minikino program for April 2026. I feel there is a strong parent-children relationship dynamic in three short films. Nggak!!! (Oktania Hamdani & Winner Wijaya, 2024), I am A Flower (Ariel Victor Arthanto, 2024) and Hear the Ping Pong Sing (Andrew Kose, 2024) explores various parent-children relationships through conversation (or lack of it). Parents want their best for their children. However, what the parents want is not always the same as what their children want. This sometimes sparks conversation or even arguments which create tension. Parents and children often have different perspectives as they are raised in different generations.
Nggak!!! is shot vertically for a vertical film competition. It is meant to be screened from a smartphone. Nggak!!! shows the clash between Sekar and her mother not only from the video call conversation, but also from how Sekar is using her smartphone. A smartphone is a personal belonging that can tell a lot about the person from its content. For example is by the apps they have, most frequent apps they use or the videos they watch. Her mother’s call disrupting her virtual wedding is a metaphor of her mother standing in her way from her queer relationship progressing to the next stage. What Sekar does with the virtual queer wedding is breaking a lot of social norms. Unfortunately, it is the reflection of the current society in which it can only happen virtually.
Nggak!!! also shows how Sekar and her mother see the ideal future differently. Parents tend to have the definition of success of their children almost like a trophy children; big wedding, respected job and live nearby which relate back to filial piety. Sekar has her own idea of success which is freedom to do what she wants and to be who she is freely yet Sekar also longs for the blessing from her mother. Nggak!!! does not only show the not-so-good parent-children relationship, but it also shows the other side where it is all about acceptance. Indonesia is still conservative, but there are people who can embrace the difference.
Queer theme is also strong in I am A Flower. I am A Flower shows how different generations respond differently. Sam is expressive, flamboyant and proud, whereas the mother is more subtle and tries to blend in. The mother tries to look and behave like a human by covering her petals with a hat, whereas Sam fully showcases themself as a flower. The conversation between Sam and their mother is not confrontational. Parents always have the worry that their child will be a different person, but the transformation here shows their true self which is beautiful and still the same person.
The transformation is an allegory for coming out. Blooming is the peak of a flower’s lifecycle. The transformation process is also shown in a different setting which implies that it happens in a different location. Sometimes someone can root in, grow and be themselves only when they move to a place that accepts them for who they are.
Moving away from queer theme, Hear the Ping Pong Sing shows our society where academic achievement is more valued than sport or art achievement. Coming from low educational attainment, the parents have the expectation for their children to be academically inclined and attain higher education in order to be successful. Parents have their own idea of success and sometimes their idea is more like a safety net, like how parents usually direct their children to choose science stream in high school. I was in the science stream and I was mathematically inclined. Mathematics major or actuarial studies came across in my mind when choosing my major for my undergraduate. It is not something that my parents are familiar with, so when they think of mathematics, they think the potential career is only being a teacher. It even surprised my parents more when I chose to study film in the end.
The film is shot from Caitlyn’s perspective and imagination. Caitlyn here is an innocent observant. Caitlyn is in between her parents’ argument with her brother. The parents are talking in Hokkien dialect often when they have arguments. They probably want to exclude Caitlyn from the argument by using the language she is not fluent yet. The argument is like a ping pong match on a musical created by Caitlyn’s imagination. Emotional burst is portrayed by the drop of the ping pong balls and covering the argument between her parents.
Parents tend to have one way communication with their children, like how the mother scolds Sam while Sam just hides and does not respond. The parents also argue between themselves which result in neglecting Caitlyn. It shows how communication fails on every level. Somehow, ping pong is the thing that connects them.
The generational gap will always exist as we grow up in different eras. It goes back to how we communicate with each other. It does not always start well. It can be confrontational, but we can try to achieve mutual understanding or agreement.
Parent-children relationship can also be a metaphor for the relationship between the citizen and the country, the motherland. Nggak!!! and Hear the Ping Pong Sing shows the common situation in Indonesian families and how the parents are the society who have expectations of what is acceptable. I am A Flower shows that maybe what is best is to leave the motherland and be rooted in another place to embrace yourself.
Editor: Fransiska Prihadi
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