The Seen and Unseen by Kamila Andini on TIFF 2017“The Seen and Unseen” by Kamila Andini Will Be Screened on TIFF 2017 on Platform Program

Remember “Moonlight” by Barry Jenkins? No one thought that the coming-of-age movie would be a strong Oscar contender when it first appeared on Platform program during Toronto International Film Festival 2016. Later on, the film won an astonishing 8 awards and snatched the highest category for Best Picture during Academy Awards. Will Indonesia finally have the same fate as “Moonlight” this year? It is not a mere daydream, since a motion picture titled “The Seen and Unseen” directed by Indonesian female filmmaker, Kamila Andini, will be screened during Platform program on TIFF 2017. The announcement for 12 films that were selected for the screening was published on 3 August 2017. The 12 films directed by 6 male and 6 female directors originated from various countries, with Kamila Andini becomes the sole representative from Asia. The film which was released in 2016, tells a powerful stories about twin children named Tantra and Tantri with Bali as its background story.

Produced by Treewater Productions and Fourcolours Films, the story goes beyond the relationship between the sisters but also their spiritual connection with the customs, culture, folklore of Bali in relation with their pursuit of hope and meaning of life. “The Seen and Unseen” will battle other amazing 11 movies from the list including “Euphoria” starred by Eva Green and Alicia Vikander, much talked about Ben Stiller’s satire drama “Brad’s Status”, and opened by “The Death of Stalin” directed by Armando Iannucci. This year’s Platform program will be judged by Chen Kaige from China, Malgorzata Szumowska from Poland, and Wim Wenders from German. Cameron Bailey, the artistic director of TIFF 2017 gave his remark about Kamila Andini’s piece of work in an interview. “Another first-time director, this comes to us from the daughter of Garin Nugroho, one of the top Indonesian art-house directors. It’s very much in the style of his work, but also (Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s). It’s a story of a couple of children but it has these magical elements, like Uncle Boonmee does. It’s really mysterious, haunting, a little bit disturbing, but very beautiful,” he said.

The award for the winner in this category will be announced on 17 September 2017, and we wish them nothing but the best. It is an honor and prestige for our film industry to receive the spotlight from such renown film institution. For more complete information regarding the films selected in this category, head to Film Pulse. The screening for “The Seen and Unseen” on TIFF 2017 also marks the film’s world premiere.