Turithrepe could be the translation of Belkibolang, a contraction of 'Belok kiri boleh langsung' ('Turning right through red permitted'). An exception to the rule. Nine young Indonesian filmmakers take a light-hearted yet profound look at rapidly changing rules in their society.
It’s almost New Year's Eve, and life in the bustling Indonesian capital of Jakarta goes on all night. The omnibus film Belkibolang is the visiting card of a new generation of Indonesian film makers. Nine short stories by the same scriptwriter, filmed by nine different directors.
The story starts with a little girl with an umbrella and a man in the rain who together search the streets, and ends as day breaks and a taxi driver tries in vain to inform his wife he wants to divorce. In between: a colourful, poetic and occasionally ironic mosaic with all the moving, acidic and lightfooted sides of life. Each episode gives an impression of modern Indonesia, but each time with an imaginative twist.
The best-known of the film makers taking part is Edwin, whose Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly was released in the Netherlands in 2009 after being screened at Rotterdam.
Programmer Note by Gertjan Zuilhof:
Belkibolang is presented as the calling card for nine young, talented and ambitious filmmakers. However, for one of the participants in this anthology film, the writer, it is more than just that. She wrote all nine stories as a cohesive concept. Many anthology films are composed far too haphazardly, but there is a clear unity here, in both subject matter and atmosphere. And that is all thanks to her, to Titien Wattimena.
You could be fooled into thinking that this is a boys’ project. All nine filmmakers are men, some of them young. But before anything had been shot, the tone had been established and the stories revolved around female interests such as blossoming relationships (Umbrella), motherhood (Chit Chat), breasts (Mamalia), divorce (Planet Elephant), the sounds of love (Gecko), a girl at a station (Perron), prostitution (Ella), a love hotel (Roller Coaster) and divorce (Full Moon). Among other things, Wattimena provided more than just a framework to hang the other stories from, she made the project into a thematic unit.
Another strong woman worked on this project by nine male filmmakers: producer Meiske Taurisia. Meiske was the irrepressible, courageous producer behind Edwin’s Blind Pig. Making nine young Indonesians adhere to a budgetary and temporal framework demands someone with Meiske’s charming steadfastness. Just so you know.