back

Sekala Niskala

The Seen and Unseen | Sichtbar und unsichtbar
Generation Kplus 2018
© Treewater Productions / Sofyan Syamsul
‘I feel like I am the moon. So bright. But after a while, the brightness is fading away.’ · ‘I don’t see you fading. You shine brightly just like the full moon.’

Tantra and Tantri are inseparable. When they secretly steal eggs from the family’s sacrificial offering, Tantri always gets the whites and Tantra the yolks. One day, however, the yolk is missing, as is Tantra. Her brother gravely ill and in hospital, Tantri starts slipping into magical parallel worlds, approaching the inevitable farewell through costumes, body paint and dance. When at one point Tantri’s mother washes the paint from her face, it is as if tenderly to expel the illusion that things can remain as they are. In long dream sequences and against the background of the Balinese philosophy of sekala – the seen – and niskala – the unseen – Andini relates how one ten-year-old girl deals with parting and grief.
by Kamila Andini
with Ni Kadek Thaly Titi Kasih, Ida Bagus Putu Radithya Mahijasena, Ayu Laksmi, I Ketut Rina, Happy Salma, Gusti Ayu Raka Indonesia / Netherlands / Australia / Qatar 2017 Indonesian 86’ Colour recommendation: 11 years and up

With

  • Ni Kadek Thaly Titi Kasih (Tantri)
  • Ida Bagus Putu Radithya Mahijasena (Tantra)
  • Ayu Laksmi (Mother)
  • I Ketut Rina (Father)
  • Happy Salma (Nurse Ida)
  • Gusti Ayu Raka (Gandma)

Crew

Written and Directed by Kamila Andini
Cinematography Anggi Frisca
Editing Dinda Amanda, Dwi Agus
Music Yasuhiro Morinaga
Sound Design Yasuhiro Morinaga
Sound Trisno
Production Design Vida Sylvia
Costumes Retno Ratih Damayanti
Make-Up Eba Sheba
Assistant Director Pritagita Arianegara
Executive Producers Garin Nugroho, Trisno, Anggi Frisca, Vida Sylvia, Retno Ratih Damayanti, Eba Sheba, Yasuhiro Morinaga
Producers Kamila Andini, Gita Fara
Co-Producer Ifa Isfansyah
Co-Production Fourcolours Films Jakarta
Hubert Bals Fund Rotterdam
APSA Children Film Fund Brisbane
Doha Film Institute Doha

World Sales

Cercamon

http://www.cercamon.biz http://www.cercamon.biz

Produced by

Treewater Productions

Photos

Kamila Andini

© Joe Sabarto

Born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1986, she studied sociology and media arts at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Her films focus on sociocultural topics, gender equality and environmental issues. Her directing debut The Mirror Never Lies, about the lives of Indonesian sea nomads, screened in the 2012 Berlinale Generation. Her second feature film The Seen and Unseen won the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury in 2018 while her third, the teen drama Yuni, won the Platform Prize at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmography

2011 Laut bercermin (The Mirror Never Lies) 2017 Sekala Niskala (The Seen and Unseen) 2021 Yuni 2022 Nana (Before, Now & Then)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022