I have been on a Youtube binge lately, and one of the channels that I always look forward to is Veritasium. The channel, created by host Derek Muller, offers viewers educational videos on the subject of science by way of experiments, interviews, coverage, and often talks with the public. Covering a wide range of topics such as The Magnus Effect, launching nuclear missiles, the Higgs Boson, to toilet swirls in different hemispheres, ice spikes, and global warming. The manner in which Veritasium presents its lessons is easy and fun to understand, with Muller's explaining each topic in a clever manner and language that is relatively easy to understand. Couple that with good editing and special effect, and we have a thoroughly engaging educational web channel. Below are a few favorites of mine, do visit his channel (click here) and subscribe if you enjoy what you see.
Every great idea begins with a note, and in this article we aim to explain why. One thing is for sure, though, is that taking notes is an essential part of creating and developing an idea. This article is brought to you by Samsung.
42: The answer to life, the universe and everything.
01. Bengee - 1974 Oberheim SEM
02. David Axelrod - The Human Abstract
03. DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 - Blue Sky Revisit)
04. Schoolboy Q - Gangsta In Designer (No Concept)
05. Lee Fields & The Explorers - Honey Dove
06. Handsome Boy Modeling School - The Truth (Featuring Roisin & J-Live)
07. Cro-Magnon - Return To The Journey
08. Dizzy Gillespie - Incantation
09. Max Graef - Buchsenoffner
10. Wildest Dreams - Last Ride
11. Shuggie Otis - Freedom Flight
Bekerja sama dengan www.cheersbanggaindonesia.com, Whiteboard Journal mengumpulkan beberapa karya anak bangsa yang mampu merepresentasikan perayaan kemerdekaan Indonesia dengan berbagai pencapaian positif. Meliputi karya dari bidang fashion, product design, arsitektur, kesenian, desain grafis, kuliner, film dan musik, nama-nama berikut ini menunjukkan bagaimana anak-anak bangsa mampu menunjukkan kualitas dalam berkarya.
Having just released their first album, Axis Mundi, and preparing for their solo concert, Polka Wars guests in this episode of Selected to share the various music they enjoy.
To purchase their album and find out how you can attend their concert, click the following link: www.whiteboardjournal.com/blog/23653/p…-axis-mundi/
01. The Blue Nile - Over The Hillside
02. Talk Talk - April 5th
03. Todd Terje feat. Bryan Ferry - Johnny And Mary
04. Roxy Music - More Than This
05. Iwan Fals - Mata Dewa
06. Q Lazzarus - goodbye Horses
07. Janet Jackson - Any time, Any Place
08. Leon Bridges - Coming Home
09. Thundercat - for love i come
10. Sound City - mantra (instrumental)
11. Don McLean - Starry Starry Night (Vincent)
12. Sylvia Telles - Fotografia
13. Debussy - claire de la lune
14. Gabriel Fauré - Pavane
15. Nostoc - Behavior on Ages
selectedPolka WarsMixtape
Back in 2013 a group of young Indonesians living in Berlin wanted to give young Indonesian filmmakers a chance to show what they're capable of. They started Pidjar, a platform showcasing Indonesian and South East Asian movies, and haven't looked back since. Whiteboard Journal sat down with one of their founding members, Stephanie Larassati, over breakfast to discuss why it's time for Indonesian filmmakers to shine.
Interview by jan k
Photos by Refan Ramadhan
It started when me and my friend Audrey Juanda made a short film called “Anak dan Tebu” which was selected for the Arte Indonesia Arts Festival in Jakarta curated by Ade Darmawan and thanks to that we ended up being really into filmmaking. About the same time we got together with a few other film buffs from PPI Berlin and decided to stage a small film festival for Indonesian students in Germany. We wanted to give them a chance to showcase their work since there are a lot of film making enthusiasts who have so far been deterred because there wasn't any proper platform. And so in 2013 Pidjar was born.
We were very surprised to see the amount of submissions and the event itself drew around 60-70 people. And we realized that there's this enthusiasm and interest. Seeing this and due to the success of the event we decided to make Pidjar its own independent organization.
There's currently six of us, each with different backgrounds. I'm an architect and then there's Audrey, who's a website project manager. Yusuf Pratama, who's doing his Master in East Asian studies, Ludovicus Gees, a graphic designer, Reza Purnama Arief, a computer science student and Fiameta Dea, who studies business informatics. With the exception of Audrey we're all based in Berlin.
When we did the first Pidjar event there was a special emphasis for short films without any restrictions content-wise. But soon after we focused on young Indonesian film makers who handles or discusses certain themes.
To answer this question properly I think we should get back to the role and function of a film. I think film is a media form that has the ability to mirror the society and environment where it was created. And it's all compressed into 2 hours that can convey all of these things visually, sonically and emotionally.
Indonesia is a developing country that is still finding its way and it's a process that causes certain problems to arise. And that's what makes independent Indonesian films very interesting, because it comes up with a way to show all of these problematics. Themes such as sexuality or identity searching in Jakarta. But they're not being given enough chance to be heard. And that's why we're trying to give them a platform to be seen by both Indonesian and international audiences in Germany.
It doesn't have to be a complicated theme, nothing political or anything like that. Back in 2014 during the Berlinale we did a screening of “Selamat Pagi Malam” by Lucky Kuswandi. The film portrays Jakarta from the perspectives of three different women and it has a lot of scene that some may call over the top, but they really strike a chord for someone who's been away from Indonesia for so long. Things like the materialism or the overbearing importance placed on marriage or even the way the society handles sexuality like it's the biggest taboo even though in practice it's very different entirely. It's very atmospheric and funny but also sad at the same time. It's these kind of films that seems unspectacular on the surface but has a lot of surprising depth.
It was! I read somewhere recently that attendance was low when it was first released even though they worked hard to get it screened in the local cinemas. And around one year later it was shown abroad and it did quite well and got good reviews. When I watched it I couldn't understand why it was unsuccessful, because it is a beautiful film and it has that right mix of independent and mainstream sensibilities. I can understand why films that are too artsy or experimental aren't everyone's cup of tea but Hollywood already does mainstream stuff very well, so why not mix it up a little?
Basically each of us tries to suggest a film we like and we assess the theme and try to decide it whether would be a good movie to show. Other than that we try to consider smaller details, like if we're screening in the summer, it will be a movie with a kind of summery feel.
I really want to screen a film called “Jalanan”, a documentary about street buskers in Jakarta by Daniel Ziv, an american living in Jakarta. Other than that “Sendiri Diana Sendiri” by Kamila Andini, “Kisah Cinta yang Asu” by Yosep Anggin Noen and “The Fox Exploits The Tiger's Might” by Lucky Kuswandi are also high on our wish list.
We work pro bono and we're also busy with our own lives, so first and foremost there are organizational difficulties. But there's six of us and we're getting the hang of finding elegant solutions to our problems. We're also lucky to live in Berlin where there's a big Indonesian community where everyone helps each other.
Film-wise, it could be quite a challenge to get the permission to show the films. There are directors who are very easy to correspondent with, while there are also those you don't hear back from.
We'll be continuing our annual event during the Berlinale each year. Since last year we've also had the pleasure of being able to invite and showcase young Indonesian directors attending the Berlinale workshop and competition. Beside that we also organize smaller screenings every now and then. We had three smaller events last year in galleries or cafes with mainly short films from directors such as Ucu Agustin and Yosep Anggi Noen.
I wish the Indonesian films, especially the independent ones, would get more support from the government. Now I know we tend to get exasperated when the talk turns into dealing with the government, because of the bureaucracy or the perceived ignorance and incompetence. But at the same time I think that now is them time for them to step up and show interest in this matter because there are a lot of young active filmmakers, the scene is throbbing. Without the missing link, the government's support, they won't achieve their potential.
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Pidjar's next event is on the 15th of August at the Filmrauschpalast in Berlin. They will be screening 'The Mirror Never Lies' by Kamila Andini. For more on Pidjar check their Facebook page.
Refan Ramadhan is a photographer who recently documented Bandung's metal mainstay Burger Kill on tour. For more of his work follow his Instagram feed.
