SYNOPSIS
Following two students and two young teachers, “A Boarding School” is an observational documentary which invites its audience to become acquainted with Islamic teachings.
Bibah is the art teacher, she is one of the main reasons why arts flourished in the school, but she has to leave the school to take her master degree. Dul Yani, the champion of the school’s annual stand-up comedy competition, who represses his loneliness of separation from his mother, a migrant worker in Arab Saudi. Dika, the senior student in the school—appointed head of room by his classmates—who is undergoing an internship program and to serve the society. Diding, the young teacher who is progressive and often discusses controversial topics in his class.
As we delve deeper into the life inside this particular pesantren, we are drawn into a the universal story, of young people ’s problem today. Through intimate moments with these charming and talented young people who are striving to overcome their limitation, the film cuts through cultural and religious barriers and opens the audience to identify with the young people’s hope for their own futures.
SYNOPSIS
A Boarding School offers rare access inside an Islamic boarding school, and an insight into a traditional educational system that fosters good character-building based on a peaceful religious teaching that has been practiced in Indonesia for centuries. Raising their students to respect and to have compassion towards others despite their differences, these schools are Indonesia’s last defense in the face of today’s rising extremism.
DIRECTOR'S
STATEMENT
One of the main characters in my previous documentary feature, “The Land Beneath the Fog” (2011), is a 12-year-old boy named Arifin.
In the film, Arifin wants to enrol at a junior high school, but his parents are too poor to pay for the tuition. Arifin is then sent to an Islamic boarding school instead.
When the film was released, some viewers expressed their disappointment at the parents’ decision to send Arifin to an Islamic boarding school, which they thought would only train him to become a terrorist. This judgmental reaction surprised me, but also moved me to begin to try to understand how the prejudice against pesantren, an educational institution that has been around for hundreds of years in Indonesia, was formed.
I am a Muslim myself, but I was never educated at an Islamic boarding school. My own ignorance and my audience’s preconception of Islamic boarding schools triggered my curiosity to find out what real life was like in a pesantren.
I wanted to know how the students live, what they learn in their classes and what kind of life they envisage for themselves after they graduate. What I found is surprise and inspire me. With this film, I hope it will surprise and inspire other people.
CREDITS
director, producer,
cinematographer
executive producers
associate producer
editor
sound recordist
impact producer
genre
running time
year
country
color
sound
SHAlahuddin siregar
amelia hapsari / INdocs
don edkins / steps
iikka vehkalahti / steps
ken-ichi imamura / nhk, nep
mohammed belhaj / al jazeera documentary channel
DAY zero filmS ug
stephan krumbiegel
tommy fahrizal
suryani liauw
documentary
105 minutes
2019
indonesia, japan, qatar, GERMANY, SOUTH AFRICA
color
5.1
IMPACT DISTRIBUTION
The intimate observational approach used in
A Boarding School invites its audience to walk through practically every corner explorable in Pondok Kebon Jambu, to observe the life and teachings inside it, as the boarders and teachers experience daily.
Through customized interactive screening and activities using the film and its learning tools, we would like to:
● Spark meaningful reflection and discussions about the wealth of wisdom in Islam, that should not be single-mindedly defined by certain groups.
● Inspire the creation of breakthrough social models in various spaces (schools, working environment, communities, etc) that promote and safeguard intercultural sensitivity.
● Promote and build an education system that is not only focused on academic results but also character-building and civic responsibilities among students.
● Connect and cooperate with like-minded individuals, organizations, institutions, and brands who can use the film to promote a more intercultural awareness and inclusive society in Indonesia.
Furthermore, we hope to amplify the release of the film via website, to accept request for screenings and its learning tools. This would allow the film to reach a wider audience beyond the existing network of supporters, to further use the film package and promote the integration of a wholesome attitude of intercultural sensitivity in the society.
Our impact distribution
organizeD by:
WITH SUPPORT FROM:
SALES
Suryani Liauw
Negeri Films aims to produce creative documentaries with high artistic values—films that surprise, inspire, engage and inform.
Since its inception in 2008, Negeri has produced three feature-length documentaries: “The Land Beneath the Fog” (2011), “Song for My Children” (2019) and “A Boarding School”. The first two films have traveled extensively in the international film festival circuit, including Dok-Leipzig, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. While 'A Boarding School' was world premiered at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2019.