Garin Nugroho
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Garin Nugroho Riyanto (born 6 June 1961) is an Indonesian film director.


Biography

Nugroho was born in
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
,
Special Region of Yogyakarta The Special Region of Yogyakarta is a province-level special region of Indonesia in southern Java. It is a semi-enclave that is surrounded by on the landward side by Central Java Province to the west, north, and east, but has a long coastline ...
on 6 June 1961. He was the fourth child of postal workers Soetjipto Amin and Mariah, who eventually had seven children. As a child, he attended an Islamic elementary school, later attending Catholic secondary schools. His father owned a
lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...
and enjoyed writing, leading Nugroho to start writing from a young age; he later quit writing because he felt his father to be too critical. He also enjoyed exploring, and would bathe in the Code River fed by the cold
lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...
runoffs from
Mount Merapi Mount Merapi (, ) is an active stratovolcano located on the border between the province of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is loc ...
; he notes that the sulfur, which was brought to the river by the lava, was good for his skin. After graduating from
Kolese Loyola Kolese Loyola, also referred by its acronym LC or Loyola College is a private Catholic secondary school located in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. The school was established by the Indonesian Province of the Society of Jesus in 1949. The school' ...
high school in 1981, Nugroho went to
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
to study filmmaking at the Jakarta Institute of Arts (''Institut Kesenian Jakarta'', or IKJ), as well as law and politics at the
University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...
(UI). After studying under Teguh Karya, he graduated from the IKJ in 1985. He later graduated from UI in 1991. During his free time, Nugroho directed documentaries and short movies. Nugroho made his directorial debut with 1991's '' Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti'' (''Love in a Slice of Bread''), overcoming bureaucracy caused by his refusal to join the Indonesian filmmakers' union. ''Cinta dalam Sepontong Roti'' was selected as Best Film in that year's
Indonesian Film Festival The Indonesian Film Festival ( Indonesian: Festival Film Indonesia, 'FFI') is an annual awards ceremony organised by the Indonesian Film Board and the Ministry of Culture to celebrate cinematic achievements in the Indonesian film industry. Dur ...
. After his mother's death in 2005, Nugroho decided to make a film about Javanese culture. He was later commissioned by the government of Austria to make a film for the 250th anniversary of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's birth. The result, '' Opera Jawa'', was based on the ''
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'' and produced by Simon Fields. In 2007, he founded LA Indie Movie. In 2008 Nugroho returned to theatre with ''The Iron Bed'', adapted from ''Opera Jawa''. The play was shown at the
Zürcher Theater Spektakel The Zürcher Theater Spektakel (''Zürich Theatre Spectacle'') is an international theatre and performing arts festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community ...
in Zurich, Switzerland.


Style

''
The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Bina Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian media ...
'' writes that Nugroho's films emphasize aesthetics, but contain sociopolitical messages. Among the issues he has discussed in his films are multiculturalism, politics, intercultural communication, and his vision for a "New Indonesia". However, he has faced criticism that his films are too difficult for the general public to understand; Seno Gumira Ajidarma credits this to Nugroho's narrative style, which comes across as strange to Indonesian viewers. Joko Anwar, writing for ''The Jakarta Post'', notes that dialogue written by Nugroho tends to lack believability. Sylviana Hamdani of '' The Jakarta Globe'' describes his dialogue as poetic. Nugroho also mixes historical footage with staged scenes in several of his movies, including ''Surat Untuk Bidadari'' and ''Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja''.


Recognition

Nugroho's debut film '' Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti'' garnered six Citra award nominations ( Best Director, Best Movie, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Artistic Scenes and Best Cinematography) at the
Indonesian Film Festival The Indonesian Film Festival ( Indonesian: Festival Film Indonesia, 'FFI') is an annual awards ceremony organised by the Indonesian Film Board and the Ministry of Culture to celebrate cinematic achievements in the Indonesian film industry. Dur ...
(IFF); Nugroho was selected as the Best Young Director at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in Seoul the next year. His next movie, '' Surat untuk Bidadari'' (''Letter for an Angel''), won Best Film at the Taormina Film Festival as well as the
Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...
, while Nugroho himself received Best Director at the Pyongyang International Film Festival and Young Filmmakers Jury award at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
. His film '' Daun di Atas Bantal'' (''Leaf on a Pillow'') also won
Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...
, in 1998.


Personal life

Nugroho enjoys gardening and travelling, both in Indonesia and abroad.


Filmography

* 1984: '' Gerbong Satu, Dua'' (''Wagon 1, 2'') * 1989: '' Tepuk Tangan'' * 1991: '' Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti'' (''Love in a Slice of Bread'') * 1991: '' Air dan Romi'' (''Water and Romi'') * 1994: '' Surat untuk Bidadari'' (''Letter to an Angel'') * 1995: '' Dongeng Kancil untuk Kemerdekaan'' (''Kancil's Tale of Freedom'') * 1995: '' Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang'' (''...and the Moon Dances'') * 1998: '' My Family, My Films and My Nation'' * 1998: '' Daun di Atas Bantal'' (''Leaf on a Pillow'') * 2000: '' Puisi Tak Terkuburkan'' (''A Poet'') * 2001: '' Layar hidup: Tanjung priok/Jakarta'' (''Waterfront'') * 2002: '' Rembulan di Ujung Dahan'' (TV) * 2002: '' Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja'' (''Bird Man Tale'') * 2004: '' Rindu Kami Padamu'' (''Of Love and Eggs'') * 2006: '' Serambi'' * 2006: '' Opera Jawa'' (''Requiem from Java'') * 2008: '' Di Bawah Pohon'' (''Under the Tree'') * 2009: '' Generasi Biru'' (''The Blue Generation'') * 2012: '' Soegija'' * 2016: '' Setan Jawa'' * 2018: '' Memories of My Body'' * 2022: '' Deadly Love Poetry'' (''Puisi Cinta yang Membunuh'') * 2024: '' Samsara''


Awards and nominations


References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links

*
"To explore one of the dark episodes in Indonesian history"
19 September 2001 interview with Richard Phillips on the ''
World Socialist Web Site The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". About The WSWS was established on Fe ...
''
Setan Jawa
film {{DEFAULTSORT:Nugroho, Garin Indonesian film directors Living people 1961 births People from Yogyakarta Javanese people University of Indonesia alumni