Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, arguably Indonesia’s best bet to be nominated for its first Oscar next year, has received the ultimate in local recognition by becoming the film to win the most Piala Citra (Citra Awards — Indonesia’s Academy Awards equivalent) trophies of all time.
During yesterday’s Piala Citra ceremony at the conclusion of the 2018 Indonesian Film Festival in Taman Ismail Marzuki in Cikini, Marlina won 10 of the 15 awards it was nominated for, surpassing the previous record of eight wins held by 1986’s Ibunda.
Among the 10 awards Marlina won were Best Actress for lead Marsha Timothy, Best Feature-Length Picture, as well as Best Director for Mouly Surya, who dedicated her win to women in the industry in line with her film’s feminist themes.
“And to all women who dream of becoming film directors, you can definitely do it. Believe in yourselves, the stereotype is [women] can’t become directors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t,” Mouly said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Marlina swept the competition last night, with Wiro Sableng, the runner-up in overall trophies won, only winning three awards.
In September, the Indonesian Film Selection Committee picked Marlina as its official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2019 Academy Awards, due to be held in February. Since it first started submitting films to the Oscars in 1987, none of Indonesia’s official selections have earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language category (the critically acclaimed 2013 documentary The Act of Killing and its follow-up, 2015’s The Look of Silence, both pertaining to the 1965 mass killings in Indonesia, did receive nominations in the Best Documentary Feature category however).
The Oscars’ nominations have not yet been announced, but, ominously for Marlina, it was not selected as a nominee in the foreign film category at the upcoming Golden Globes.
Marlina, the third film by director Mouly Surya, has been described as a neo-feminist “satay” western and, although it is set in modern day Sumba, the setting and the story it tells very much references the tropes of Western films while lending them a uniquely Indonesian flavor.
The movie tells the story of a widow, played by Marsha Timothy, who is robbed by a group of bandits at the start of the film and then follows her tale of revenge across the titular four chapters.
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