
A mother’s instinct is to protect her child, even from the moment the child is still in the womb. The safety of a child is a priority, anything must be done so that the child is not less anything and not wretched. But Mataya’s fate is rather unfortunate, because her husband left her when she found out Mataya was pregnant and left it to Ivan, who is not a STANDBY man (Ready, Antar, Jaga). Living in a remote village and not adjacent to neighbors, Mataya continued to work on the land despite Ivan’s ban; But she’s a hardworking woman who doesn’t want to laze around. The day of birth was near but Ivan was reluctant to deliver Mataya to the midwife in the opposite village; Because it has to go through the river with a heavy current. Mataya had to fight alone. The bond between the mother and the child who is still in the womb, will be closely entwined because of the survival process of both, which must be borne by the mother herself.
Mataya is a short film directed by 3rd semester student, Arung Raditya. Each year SAE film students are required to make several films, and Mataya is the combined final assignment of advance digital audio & video production and advance scriptwriting courses. Starting from the logline “Towards the day before giving birth, a single mom living in a remote area must run the river alone to the opposite village to meet a midwife” that Arung proposed during advance scriptwriting class, which was then selected along with 4 scripts from other students, Arung had to go beyond her comfort zone.
Arung Raditya
Since 3 years old Arung shows symptoms of Cerebral Palsy, which is a syndrome that causes disruptions in movement and coordination of the body. But these limitations did not dampen his intention to become a filmmaker; Especially when filming Mataya in a waterfall, with a heavy geographical terrain. “Because no matter what happens, I think film production is like visiting a problem,” Arung said. That’s a challenge that needs to be conquered. The creative world is a world that does not look at one’s limitations, the most important of which is the intention and passion to produce work. And Arung has a good support system. His friends were very helpful to Arung on the whole production process of Mataya, and as a ‘reward’ for their willingness, Arung made sure they were always safe and secure. Muhammad ‘Nikk’ Syaifuddin from Leadership Camp and his team supervised as well as being a safety & rescue worker for the safety of the production crew and Java Stunts Team for cast safety.
The theme of Mataya is the embodiment of Arung’s own spirit; That in order to achieve enlightenment in life, one sometimes has to go through the process of facing various obstacles, to the point that one will realize that it is okay to seek help. But still a person must undergo the process itself to the limit of maximum ability.
Before Mataya, Arung had directed several short films with various genres, including Closure, Hotline Miami (fan film), Number Four, and Orientation. Orientation is an experimental film produced by SAE film student Dian Alicia. Because they felt the same spirit and wanted to explore more in creating works, they agreed to set up a Table Two Productions production house as their creative platform. Upon completion of Orientation production, they designed branding for social media needs and press kits for film festival needs.
From the experience of managing the establishment of Table Two Production that Arung and Dian are used to monitoring which film festivals are open submission. After completing Mataya, Arung immediately tried to submit Mataya to several film festivals, one of which was Minikino Film Week – Bali International Short Film Festival. Not expecting much and ready to accept rejections, it turns out Mataya escaped in Minikino Film Week.
Mataya’s Shooting Process
Dian Alicia (left)
Arung Raditya (kanan)
The process of making a film by going as far as possible to the set and beyond the limits of ability, provides an opportunity for Arung to make as many mistakes as possible. “It’s always necessary to evaluate and learn lessons that can be considered in the next film. Rinse and repeat continue for approximately 5 years. Daring to take risks is very important, especially in college,” said Arung.
Way to go, Arung! Look forward to your next works!
AUG
2021
About the Author:
SAE Indonesia's Content Writer