Speak Out Your Films: When Asian Independent Film Festivals Send Messages to the World

This article focuses on three independent film festivals held in three different countries in Asia. They are (1) Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) in Jeonju, South Korea, (2) Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in Manila, The Philippines, and (3) Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Multiple case studies is adopted to analyse the way in which these three independent film festivals are being organised, including the “messages” being circulated for their global audiences. The findings are analysed based on the conceptual framework that consists of three relevant concepts: film as cultural product, independent film festival, and cultural discourse. The conclusion shows that the three analysed film festivals offer an alternative way in film distribution, then demonstrate unconventional way of festival organising, and strengthening the power of community and its networks as the basis for the development of their festivals.


Introduction
Most major international film festivals, both in the United States (US) and Europe, have considerable contributions to film distribution around the world.This is the part of cinema mechanisms in terms of film as the industry where film festivals boost the scope of distribution and increase the income for cinema industry while, at the same time, create the standards of aesthetic values and qualities.This notion, however, is not the main motivation for several film festivals in Asia.There are many Asian film festivalsorganised by Asian committees in Asian countries-that are dedicated for other motivations rather than economic interest in regard to industrial objectives.This kind of film festivals, then, can be simply recognised as the independent film festivals.
The Asian independent film festivals provide the alternative way of film distribution, offer the unconventional system on managing a film festival, and empower the strength of community as a new basis of its development.This is the main thesis of the essay that encourages several follow-up questions: how do they manage the festivals?Why does this system influence the motivations beneath every event and affect the cinema development both locally and internationally?
The Methodology This study generally adopts the case study as its method.The study focuses on three film festivals in different countries in Asia, and it leads to "multiplecase studies" as the specific method applied here because there are three different unit analyses with a few basic similarity in one hand and several significant differences on the other hand (Yin, 2003: 46).The method used here, then, generates the research report by applying "replication logic" (Yin, 2003: 47) to reinforce the findings and construct the conclusion.This essay as the report is presented in a logical order, started by a concise explanation of the conceptual framework, a brief description of each festival, the main characteristics, the comparison among them in terms of its history (establishment motivation), the goal, the type of films that have been screened, the supporting events (the fringes), the people behind the screen (the organisation and the management system), the funds (the event supporters),

The Conceptual Framework
There are three relevant concepts used in this research; film as a cultural product, independent film festival, and cultural discourse.The linkage among these concepts constructs a conceptual framework as the approach to analyse the findings collected throughout the study.
The conclusion, then, is integrated based on an in-depth interpretation using this conceptual framework regarding the comparison of the three film festivals.A brief explanation relating to the concepts can be seen below respectively.

Film as a Cultural Product
Film, in general context, can be seen as "three important subjects" (Riri Riza, personal communication, November

Independent Film Festival
The discussion about independent film festival should be based on the broader meaning of independent in cinema itself.It is started with the meaning of independent film or independent cinema.Blandford, Grant, and Hillier (2001: 131) explain that 'independent' in cinema has various meanings.However, the similarity of these diverse meanings is the way in which filmmakers or the people behind the filmmaking process do not depend upon "major studio system" in terms of production management, budgeting, and distribution (Blandford,Grant, and Hillier,2001: 131).In the US, ironically, after the 1980's several independent filmmakers or producers being supported by major studios, especially their film distributions.In the European countries such as the UK and France, the independent films have their specific place for screening called "art house" that mostly shows art films or non-mainstream cinema that produced independently (Blandford,Grant, and Hillier, 2001: 14).
However, the situation occurs in Asian countries is completely different.
Indeed, the cinema industry in Asia has already had a long history as well as in the US and Europe.For instance, South Korea had their first "movie house" in 1906 and first Korean movie production in 1919 (Lent, 1990: 124) while Philippines began to screen a foreign movie on 1 January 1897 then establishedthe Board of Censorship for Cinematographic Films in 1911 and produced their own feature film in the following year (Lent, 1990: 150).A similar condition has also taken place in Indonesia where they hadits first feature film production in 1926 called Loetoeng Kasaroeng (Lent, 1990: 203).Despite

Cultural Discourse
The third concept that functions as the unique identification of the subjects of this multiple-case studies is cultural discourse.This concept is a further adaption of "discourse" that is mainly

Features and the Comparison
The facts from all film festivals can be compared one to another.This comparison is a further step of this multiple-case study.The comparison can be seen in the table below.• Cinematic exploration and experimentation • Supporting local independent cinema • Promoting Asian cinema 3 Type of films that have been screened • International • Experimental and obscure films • National • Filipino independent films • Regional (Asia) • Asian cinema both fiction and documentary films, as well as feature and shorts.

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The fringes (supporting events) • Music performances The funding • Self-funded (by sponsorships) • Foundation fund plus sponsorships • Self-funded (by sponsorships) 7 The "position" in the country • Independent and be positioned as the "second class" festival • Independent and be positioned as the "second class" festival • Independent and be positioned as the "second class" festival 8 Comparison with so-called the "first class" festival in each country Based on these facts and the comparison mentioned above, the level of analysis now reaches the next step in which to seek the meaning beneath these phenomena (cases) through the conceptual framework described earlier.
At first, film as a cultural product.All film festivals demonstrate the same circumstance in terms of positioning film not as an economic commodity.Although there is a film market programme in JIFF, for example, the meaning of the term 'market' here is not in the same sense as shown as in the European or North American major film markets.Rather than operatinglike a meeting point for producers, distributors and buyers, this event is more likely to be an initiation for young promising talents in local cinema in order to be heard and to be considered in a broader cinema industry.
The programme is more likely as a breakthrough to re-shape the so-called mainstream cinema industry that mostly considering profit as the main motivation FilmFestival held in Manila, the Philippines; and (3) Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) in Yogyakarta or Jogja, Indonesia.Zaki Habibi, Speak Out Your Films: When Asian Independent Film Festivals Send Messages to the World123The main reason regarding these chosen film festivals is because all of the three countries have a long history of these choices are made as the basis for the further analysis of this study.
these long history, however, the cinema industry in these three Asian countries is operated in different way with what developed in the US and Europe.There is no major studio system because films are produced based on the producer team or filmmaker initiatives.The system that can be called as the mainstream cinema in these Asian countries is the film industry that operates on a big budget supported by either government or private investors then nationally distributed through main theatre networks in a monopolistic or oligarchic system.In general, the independent movement in these three respective countries appears since the 1990's in order to oppose this monopolistic or oligarchic practice.Besides, the movement also takes place to raise public awareness that film is a public domain that has its socio-cultural context rather than just an economic commodity.The independent films produced in these Asian countries also represent the movement of younger generation especially that offer an alternative system for building the cinema industry in the country.These young independent filmmakers and producers need another distribution system due to the limitation for screening their works in so-called mainstream theatres.The film festival, then, is seen as a good solution to gain appreciation from broader audience.The film festivals held in such purpose are also managed and funded independently to promote alternative films and develop wider appreciation about the unconventional cinema in terms of the genre and production-distribution system.Thiskind of film festivals-emerged in South Korea, Philippines and Indonesiaare called as the independent film festivals.
proposed by a French historian and philosopher, Michel Foucault.DavidHowarth (2000: 67)  who writes an exhaustive study about the theory of discourse describes Foucault's thought that "the concept of discourse is still widely deployed, although discourses are no longer treated as autonomous systems of scientific statements, but the products of power relations and forces that form them".In other words, Foucauldian discourse is determined by "social practices and the way they in turn shape social relationships and institutions" (cited inHowarth, 2000: 8).I adapt the "political discourse" introduced later by Foucault to be reformulated intocultural discourse to interpret the cultural position and meaning construction caused by the three Asian independent film festivals.As Foucault says, scientific discourse that become his first study to seek how discourses are shaped has turned into further examination where "the way in which political practices modify and transform the rules of formation of scientific discourse (cited inHowarth,   2000: 60-61).Thus, "Foucault stresses the way discourses partly form social relations, identities, and social objects"(Howarth, 2000: 81).By this I mean, the role of these film festivals in terms of constructing the cultural context in each country has a similar form to the formulation process of discourses.In other words, it leads to another concept called the cultural discourse.

Figure
Figure 1.The Conceptual Framework The Film Festivals, Stories from Three Asian Countries 1. Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) JIFF is held in Jeonju, known as a cultural city in Jeollabuk-do province, located in the north part of South Korea.The JIFF Committee has been conducting this festival since 2000, and the festival usually takes place in the spring for a whole week.The 12 th JIFF was held from 29 April 2011 to 5 May 2011.Jeonju that

Figure
Figure 3. Cinemalaya crowded by the audience

Figure 4 .
Figure 4.A volunteer put a daily bulletin during the first event of JAFF in 2006 (Source: personal collection) of film distribution and film screening.By this festival, the committee and the participants eagerly challenge the cinema industry especially in South Korea to think about the wider meaning of film: no longer as en economic commodity only, but also has significant role in the sociocultural lives and even political one.This phenomenon also emerges in Jogja where JAFF develops a sub-programme called Film Depot (a part of the Community Forum programme) as a meeting point for independent filmmakers, their films, and the appreciators.The depot not only deal with film transactions by selling DVD or copyright of film screening, the main goal, the characteristic, and the organising system of these three film festivals are relatively different, there is still one similar condition.All of these festivals work in an independent system in terms of organising, funding,andorientation.By taking this position, actually, they do not demonstrate a lack of capacities or supports.This is a role that they intentionally take part in because they still have the ideology regardless their festival scale, the aim, and the films or participants.This ideology could be giving chance to younger generation, celebrating the spirit of community, indulging viewers (audience), promoting specific cinematic genres (experimental and obscure),and focusing on cultural entity (Asian cinema).
Anwar-who just passed away on 14 April 2011-describes the mainstream film distribution in Indonesia as "a jungle where there are no rules, where everyone has to fend for himself" (cited inLent, 1990: 209).Now his worry can be tackled step by that an optimistic view should be raised considering what have been shown in this multiple-case study on three Asian independent film festivals, JIFF in South Korea, Cinemalaya in Philippines, and JAFF in Indonesia.The notion to upraise this optimism is located in the new hope of new generation in Asian cinema in terms of creator (filmmakers) and appreciator (audience).Sasono (2010a)tells a story based on his conversation with JIFF programmer, Yoo Eun-Song, who describes that in 2009 no less than 50,000 audiences mostly the youths from Jeonju and any other cities in Korea attended the festival, while in 2010 there were 80,269 tickets sold that created 83 per cent of seat occupancy.The new generation of Korean and the world cinema are created in Jeonju through JIFF due to their focus on digital technology, cinematic explorations, and appreciation to audience (Sasono, 2010b).The similar condition also takes place in Philippines and Indonesia.Finally, these Asian independent film festivals have already provided an alternative way of film distribution that challenges the mainstream system.They have also offered an unconventional system on managing a film festival by selffunded and voluntary supporting with promoting specific ideology.Theyhave empowered the strength of community as a new basis of its development either demonstrated by young filmmaker communities or appreciative-and-openminded audience.