A Cinematic Way of Healing

Yogyakarta Earthquake: 10th Commemoration of the 2006 Disaster__

I have noticed that being psychologically wounded is at times more devastating than being physically wounded as the traumatized keeps on replaying the mental scars in various ways. This is made possible by a mechanism through which the memory that retains the emotionally charged details of the shocking event keeps reminding the victims. On one hand, this visual mechanism can be reversed to create the possible paths of curing.

Along this train of thought, film might be the most effective ways to tackle trauma as, during the viewing, the brain will be in a dream-like mode making possible the reception of a new idea with the least resistance on the part of the viewers.

Although I have not had the chance to see the film "Harap Tenang, Ada Ujian" (Be Quiet, Exam is in Progress), reading its various reviews, I can see why the film can help bring on healing to the lives of many people in Yogyakarta, Indonesia who were victims of the 2006 earthquake. The film has so far collected awards as the Best Short Film in JAFF 2006 Yogyakarta with the theme "The Role of Film in the Midst of Crisis", Konfiden Film Festival 2006, Jakarta and in Indonesia Film Festival 2006, Jakarta. It has also been screened during the Singapore International Film Festival 2007, International Signes de Nuit Festival Paris 2007 and Internazionale d'art Festivale Roma 2007. The last recognition the movie has achieved is a nomination in the Short Film Festival & ASIA 2007, Tokyo, Japan (June 25 - July 1).

Ifa Isfansyah, the Yogyakarta-based director, followed the experience of an elementary school boy against the backdrop of the devastating 5.9-Richter earthquake that hit Yogyakarta at 5:55 a.m. (local time) on May 27 last year when most people were still in their beds. The disaster struck the city exactly 10 days before elementary school children in Indonesia were scheduled to have their National Examinations and 14 days before the opening of the World Cup 2006.

The school boy has to prepare himself for the final exam. In reality, tens of thousands of students had to study under the makeshift tents without much light, books and, much less, food. The occasional rains made the situation even worse. But the city should observe the silence as the students were studying and, later, take their exam.

I was in Manila when the disaster killed more than 6,000 people and left at least a million people homeless. Deeply sad for being not able to do much for my hometown, I tried to follow the calamities' aftermath through the eyes of family, friends and neighbors who spontaneously organized search and rescue efforts. Most of them were also victims who had their own families fallen during the disaster. They grieved over hundreds of dead bodies scattered on the street as hospitals were already overcrowded. They pleaded for prayers as the city turned into a field of ruins -- wounded and struggling.

When I visited Yogyakarta in September last year, I once again had to deal with the searing wounds the disaster has cut deep in me and in the people. I saw thousands of people were still living in tents. Ruins of buildings were still piled everywhere. Relief workers from around the world have left and people were doing everything to rebuild their houses.

Talking to some of them, I realized more how the event has scarred people's lives in various ways. Their stories burst out giving me little chance to response. The same theme was repeated from one person to another. It always started with how the tremors shook the foundation of their houses and how they were stricken with utmost panic, fear and frustration.

Though the film runs only 15 minutes, I believe it can serve as the opportunity to refresh the visual memories of the disaster through a different lens. My friend told me how the World Cup 2006 helped the refugees forgot their sufferings however briefly when seeing their favorite players on TV. The voluntary groups working together also sponsored a variety of games or puppet shows to let go of the repressed emotion in a positive environment. Moving beyond being a mere distraction, the movie may do more by summoning a new courage and understanding for the people in confronting the event's memories.

There is something more in the movie than just the earthquake and its aftermath. As the boy struggles to overcome the hurdles of his misery, there come to his village a group of Japanese volunteers. Learning from the history textbooks that Japan once colonized his country, he thinks the Japanese are coming back for the same purpose. Out of nationalism, the kid with all the means he can think of strikes back at the "invaders."

At this point, the film mercilessly challenges how people think of the disaster. The visual memories of the ghostly earthquake are still vivid to many of the victims. On May 27 this year, people of Yogyakarta commemorated the first year of the disaster just to be reminded of the thousands who are still living in tents. But as I witnessed it myself, they are not loosing their hope. On the contrary, these "tent people" and people of Yogyakarta in general have been trying their best to stand back on their own feet.

Through the kid's childlike nationalism and self-perseverance to pass the national exams, the people can learn to voluntarily open their wounds once again but, this time, to be confronted with humor and healed through self-esteem.