Story time : The first Indo film festival in Suriname

     Story time :  " The first Indo film festival in Suriname"

Schedule for the Indo film festival on the 29th and 30th of June

Fawaka (* How is it going in Sranang tongo, local Surinamese language), as you can see it's been a while since I have been behind the writing desk.  Today we have another fun topic to talk about.  My beautiful country Suriname is home to a lot of different cultures and people.  My different ancestors came to the South American paradise from different parts of the world under less pleasant circumstances. But now generations have passed and Suriname has become a multicultural community. Of course, this is also a part of the unique charm Suriname has to offer the world. We have learned to tolerate each other despite our differences. We share our food, culture, and even religious holidays.  In this edition of storytime I am interviewing Miss. Suleigha Winkel from Markoesa movie events film director and initiative taker of the Indo film festival 2019. 

                                             What is the Indo film festival? 

Perjalanan, the trip

The Indo film festival is the first festival organized by Markoesa movie events.  Last year they organized a movie night in Rutu restaurant.  The movie was Burkinah Faso by Iara Lee who also personally attended the movie night. The Indo film festival starts on the 29th of June and lasts 2 days.  According to Suleigha Winkel : " The festival will be a yearly returning event.   The movies have a creative and poetic twist.  They all have a strong personal story and are made by independent freelance movie makers.  Traveling to Indonesia I have met plenty of young moviemakers.  I have approached them to participate in the festival.  The speakers for the Indo film festival are Shellen Arga, Andy Daniels, Ian atmidjojo, Esther Poredjo." Besides Suleigha Winkel other movie makers are also participating in the Indo Film festival. Filmmakers like Josscy Aartsen from the Netherlands,  Ryandi Pratama from Indonesia, and  Jeffrey Salimin from the Netherlands.  The festival also has other activities and workshops on its schedule.  There is an admission fee, for one day at the Indo movie Festival you will pay SRD35,-  that equals $4,65.  A two-day ticket pass will cost you SRD50,-, which equals the amount of $6,65 depending on the day's currency. For those interested in attending the movies have subtitles for non-Javanese speaking viewers.  Tickets will be available at the gate, the festival will be held in the pepperpot nature reserve Commewijne.  I wanted to know why Suleigha Winkel thinks it's important to organize an Indo film festival. "It's important to organize an Indo film festival because people should learn to appreciate their own culture more. The power of a nation is in appreciating and treasuring its culture.  It's also a way of spreading information about our culture to the rest of the country.  

                                      The future of  film making in Suriname 

Movie director Josscy Aartsen 

I wanted to know more about Movie makers in Suriname.  I asked Suleigha Winkel how she sees the future of the Indo film industry in Suriname. "  I  see a positive future because I think that people are becoming more aware of the power of roots and the power of researching one's roots.  If people continue producing then beautiful things will keep entering the market." Suleigha Winkel also has other plans for the future. " Besides film festivals, I want to do more movie nights that aren't only based on Indo films. I also want to make movies about other cultures.  I would like to invite everyone to attend the Indo film festival and enjoy inspiring movies from Indonesia and Suriname under the stars with a snack and a drink. It's a festival for everyone who is a bit curious about what more there is outside."  If you want to find out more about Markoesa Movie events, you can contact them on Facebook.  

Lobi Singi Movie by Suleigha Winkel 

Well, it certainly would be interesting to learn more about the different cultures in Suriname.  Especially if you have diverse roots like this writer.  In Suriname cultures come together to melt, we learn from each other, we share with each other and of course, we learn each other's traditions.