Afif Fahmi’s Laut Masih Memakan Daratan (The Swallowing Sea) perhaps has the most notable achievement out of all the films competing in Minikino Film Week 10 (MFW10). Not only did the short receive an honorable mention in the MFW10 National Competition Award 2024, but it also won the prestigious Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) Asia Pacific Awards. It is well deserved, as the film itself raised complex issues about our Earth and humanity through the honest depiction of Timbulsloko Village in Demak affected by the tidal flood (banjir rob).
Interested in the filmmaking process, we, Greg and Faiza, as participants of Hybrid Internship Program MFW10 for Film Festival Writers, had an opportunity to conduct an online interview with the film director and the producer, Lisa Nurholiza. During the discussion online on Thursday (05/09), Afif explained about his exposure to Timbulsloko in 2020 when an NGO member who had been living close to the village invited him to visit.The challenging environment caused by the tidal flood made him certain that it’s an important issue to be brought up in the form of a short film.
“One of the reasons why I made the film is because the sea level rising at an alarming rate will completely change the landscape in 10 years. I’m guessing 10 years later the tidal flood will reach the roof. This is urgent and something needs to be done immediately. At least people know that the climate crisis is happening in an excessive speed. Okay, this is it, I have to make this film,” said Afif.
The film tells the story of Arga, a documentary filmmaker, who visited his childhood village that was affected by the tidal flood to mourn his grandmother.
Fiction over Documentary
Aware of the director’s background, we expect the film to be a documentary about how the residents try to survive in their ongoing sunken residence. However, Afif approached this short through fictional storytelling; prompting us to curiously ask questions about the director’s choice since the honest depiction of the film could get lost in translation to accommodate audience interest. “The idea came when I discovered that many foreign Production Houses and NGO groups had made countless documentaries about the area,” Afif explained. “This pushes me to raise the issue through a different method so the work could be seen as distinct from others.” But that isn’t the only reason as he wanted to raise themes about memories and a sense of place; deeming that fiction storytelling would be more powerful in delivering its message.
There is one scene in the film where Arga enters his childhood home that has been abandoned due to the immense amount of water that enters the house. As Agra uses his camera to record, the point of view made it seem like the audience is looking through the eyes of the main character, giving the audience a sense of nostalgia and making us wonder what his house used to be before the tragedy happened.
Remarkably, Agra’s camera also plays an important role to address the important theme: climate change. Afif was well aware of how his storytelling decision-making could be interpreted as pretentious. To counter that, the footage in Agra’s camera was shot directly without any profile picture that looks amateurish; giving a non-fabricated feeling that captures the severe situation in Timbul Sloko.
Drawbacks, but paid off
Despite us finding Afif’s explanation sensible, it was not without challenges. Selected as one of the ten shorts from Layar Indonesiana Short Film Production Competition, Lisa recalls her meeting with the mentors who commented on the film’s weak plot. They were asked to change the story several times, yet, fortunately, Afif and Lisa herself were aware of where the strength of the film lies.
“One of the curators asked this specific question to us after we rebutted their statement, ‘What impact do you wish to show to the audience with this film?” She then explained humbly to them that as a filmmaker – which arguably won’t have an influence as powerful as the environmental movement itself – they hoped to raise awareness about the condition that the audience isn’t aware of. The answer might not seem convincing, but it was proved with lots of warm receptions as they travel around Asia and screen the film in festivals.
During one of the screenings in JAFF, an audience approached them and praised them for raising awareness on this matter. The audience lives in Semarang – located in the same province as Timbulsloko with approximately 1-hour driving distance – yet just found out that there is a place that desperately needs attention near her home. Another story they had was during their visit to ‘Changing Climate, Changing Lives’ (CCCL) Film Festival in Bangkok where they discovered a film similar to theirs from the Philippines; telling the story of a village that was also submerged due to rising sea levels.
Ultimately, Afif thinks that film is a powerful medium to raise awareness on important issues, as the audiences feel what they see on screen. The truth is that people are facing such life-threatening disasters, day by day. “So when people watch this film, many end up feeling the urgent condition of the people from Timbulsloko, living in the dread of getting their house drowned by the rising sea level,” as explained by the filmmaker humbly.
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