One week later, his name rang my bell when I ran into a clip on Youtube, which was made by some Indonesian in Wageningen. I messaged him if this was the film he asked me for a ‘like’, his reply confirmed it: ‘We are joining a movie competition among Indonesian students in Europe. The event will be on 5-6th of May in Rotterdam. So far we are nominated in the Most Favorite Movies category. ‘ Actually, he’s the director of the film. With questions about the movie and their life in Wageningen, today I interview Ibnu and four performers, Dwi, Titis, Wempy and Ferdinand:
About the film
Based on the theme of the competition, nationalism, their movie is a story about how four Indonesian students in Wageningen managed to make a flag of their country and held the flag-raising ceremony near the Forum building. ‘It was quite a coincidence,’ Ibnu and his friend Zulham were informed about the competition, and they jumped at the chance. It took them around one month to complete. In the movie each performer is given an alias to visualize a certain ethnic group in Indonesia. ‘Does it mean all the typical-Indo elements are covered?’ I ask. ‘No, you know we have such a rich diversity,’ he says. Through their eyes, I can feel that’s what they are proud of.
Life in Wageningen
‘How much time do you spend on study?’ I ask. ‘Study all the time,’ Dwi readily responds and the rest nod. When it comes to the life next to study, the answers are rich in variety: Ibnu is a good cook and Dwi is his fan, Ferdinand likes playing guitar and Titis, who loves photographing, sometimes will sing with him. ‘Do you feel homesick in Wageningen?’ Dwi admits it’s very difficult in the first three months; in contrast, Wempy says it’s not a problem for him. As to Ibnu, who has been in Holland for almost five years, he tells there’s only that one time, when he was back to the Netherlands after a vacation in Indonesia after the first two years of study.
Most memorable story
In the end, I round off the interview with my favorite question: ‘what’s your most memorable story in your country?’ Wempy: ‘The failure of my first job interview.’ Dwi: ‘An accident during the rock climbing.’ Ibnu: ‘I became the youngest winner of fencing in the national games when I was 15.’ Ferdinand: ‘A graduation trip from west to east.’ Titis: ‘All the participants sang the birthday song for my 17th-birthday when I was in the national debate championships.’
I’m impressed not only by their various experiences, but also by their friendships: during the interview, they make lots of jokes with each other; it more or less tells how close their relationships are, especially considering the Asian culture. I’m not a fan of nationalism, but I’m moved by the film and their sincere love to their country. Good luck with their movie!
Vid of the Week: It’s a pity that their work didn’t take the crown in the competition eventually, but their effort stills deserves our applause.