Who says Indonesians can’t make meaningful movies? ‘Siti’, a black-and-white feature directed by Eddie Cahyono, is receiving critical acclaim after winning two awards at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).
According to Tempo, ‘Siti’ won awards for best screenplay and best cinematography in SIFF’s News Asian Talent Competition, beating entrants from Iran, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.
‘Siti’ tells the story about a woman who had to make ends meet by working as a karaoke bar attendant after an accident left her husband paralyzed.
Sekar Sari, who plays the titular character, also previously won the best acting performance award at the 2014 Singapore International Film Festival for her role in the film.
We fear ‘Siti’ is too highbrow and too “deep” to be shown in Indonesian cinemas, where only the cheapest horror movies with weirdly sexy female ghosts are generally shown. But we’re holding out hope that we can eventually see ‘Siti’ on the big screen. After all, nobody wanted to show ‘Birdman’ here until after it won best picture at the Oscars.
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