Alliance Française (AF) Bali hosted a private gathering organized by the French Ambassador to Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste to meet the people from Bali’s creative industry on Jan. 26 at The Ambengan Tenten, Denpasar, Bali. About 20 guests from Bali’s creative industry attended the event, mainly working in the design and film industry.
Fabien Penone–the French Ambassador to Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste–attended the event in person alongside the team of the French Embassy, the Director of the Alliance Française and the Director of Institut Français d’Indonésie (IFI).
Ambassador Penone stated an in-progress preparation between France and Indonesia to enforce the arts and culture industry in various mediums, such as design and film.
France and Indonesia have been developing several incorporations in design and film within Bali. In design, they have collaborated with CushCush Gallery by creating a residency program for French designers–Artist Designer in Residence (ADIR)–that has been ongoing since 2022.
Ambassador Penone perceives a promising opportunity to connect France and Indonesia’s film industry while promoting Indonesian movies in France. “As you know, because over the last year, especially this year, several Indonesian movies are being selected to a French festival to Clermont-Ferrand, especially on short films,” Ambassador Penone said.
Minikino, a Bali-based international short film festival organization, is a major actor in the film industry of Bali. This organization was founded in Bali in the year of 2002 by three young female activists, TinTin Wulia, Kiki Muchtar and Judith Guritno.
Miniko has an annual event called Minikino Film Week that has become one of Indonesia’s biggest short film festivals and has been ongoing since 2015. Edo Wulia, the Director of Minikino, is a featured guest to present a story behind Minikino and its works throughout the year dedicated to the film industry.
Wulia mentioned several programs and events that have been operating at Minikino since 2002. It has three short film festivals, monthly screenings and discussions, including Open December (since 2003) and Minikino Film Week (MFW)–Bali’s international short film festival–since 2015. Miniko also has two annual short film networking projects and three annual competitions. The projects and competitions are both held regionally and internationally.
Minikino’s career came to a new beginning in 2019, ever since they got invited to a Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival in France. “The trip was wonderful. I brought Minikino to be registered as a member of the short film conference and also succeeded in convincing the Indonesian government to fund Roger Gonin’s trip to Bali,” Wulia said.
Wulia also stated that Minikino has successfully convinced Roger Gonin to bring all of Minikino’s program directors back to France for the 22nd Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival.
Wulia expresses his gratitude for all the support Miniko has gotten for the funding they received from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency (LPDP) under the management of the Indonesian Ministry of Research Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti).
“Minikino has been awarded as one among 12 others in Indonesia to be a recipient of funds for cultural movements in Indonesia,” Wulia stated.
This year, Minikino will be celebrating its 10th edition of Minikino Film Week. The event will be held in September 2024, including publishing the Indonesian version of Roger Gonin’s book about magic lanterns.
“Hopefully, we all can actually meet again in Minikino Film Week 10th Bali International Short Film Festival, 13th to 20th September 2024,” Wulia added as he finished his speech.
