Ho, Boni and Titi, the heroes of “Jalanan”
If you haven’t seen the documentary ““Jalanan” yet, you should definitely do so immediately. It’s a sweet, moving and surprisingly hilarious portrait of the lives of three street musicians trying to make it in Jakarta. It’s proven to be both a crowd-pleasing favorite and a critical hit, having picked up numerous awards such as Best Documentary at the Busan Film Festival (oh, and we thought it was one of the very best Indonesian movies of 2014, too).
Seen it already? Great. Then you know that while “Jalanan” ends on an uplifting note, the film’s three protagonists – Boni, Titi and Ho – still remain in difficult, disadvantaged positions in life.
If, after watching the movie, you wished there was something you could do personally to help out Jalanan’s heroes, director Daniel Ziv has come up with an idea that could potentially transform their lives.
Ziv, who spent over 6 years documenting the lives of his three subjects, decided the best way to help his friends was to start a crowdfunding campaign to buy each of them their very own home. And you can help him make it happen.
The director explains his numerous reasons for doing this on the campaign’s FundRazr page, but here’s the crucial bit:
So I’ve decided to try to buy them each a house. Something that will be theirs to keep. A place they can live or rent out or raise kids in. It won’t be large or fancy or even in a good neighborhood, because we won’t realistically be able to raise that kind of money. But Boni, Titi & Ho are humble individuals accustomed to living simply (Boni lived in a sewage tunnel for 10 years) so just owning a home, no matter how modest, will be a dream come true.
So if you enjoyed “Jalanan,” cared about its characters and can afford to help give somebody a home and a whole lot of hope, consider contributing. If you decide to do so, you can get all the details on how right here on the campaign’s homepage.
