Indonesian film studios, like many opportunistic movie makers around the world, tend to try and cash-in by making films about current popular trends rather than making movies for the sake of artistic integrity. One studio’s next target? The mass protests by Islamic groups against former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.
If you recall, on December 2, 2016, conservative Muslims, organized and led by hardline groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), protested in huge numbers in Jakarta to demand that Ahok be jailed for his alleged blasphemy against Islam (they have since gotten their wish).
The event, dubbed “212” in accordance to the date, was attended by anywhere between 200,000 protesters (if you believe most media reports) to 7 million (if you believe the protesters’ own estimation of their numbers).
Due to the event’s popularity in the public consciousness, Warna Pictures is currently producing a film based on the protest, called ‘212: The Power of Love’. Its director, Jastis Arimba, gave a rough synopsis of the movie to Detik yesterday:
“In this film there are several emotional stories that are interesting to those who took part in the protest. [It’s about] how a skeptic (of the protest) changed his view about Islam.”
The movie centers around Rahmat, played by actor Fauzi Baadila. Rahmat is a journalist at a major media company who had to return to his village following his mother’s death. His father, a respected religious figure in the village, hasn’t spoken to Rahmat in years, but they reconcile when they take part in the 212 protest together.
Check out the trailer here, in which it looks like the movie is going to mainly involve stock footage of the protest with scenes of the film’s actors inserted in between.
‘212: The Power of Love’ is set for release in December 2017, a year after the protest. It may prove to be a massive hit if 7.5 million people watch the movie, or do just okay if only 200 thousand people watch it.
