Gratitude
Gratitude is about Yenni, an Indonesian woman who accompanies her husband, Hendra who has scholarship to study in Australia. Yenni used to work as a lecturer in Indonesia but in Australia she only works as a cleaner. In her job, she uses water every day, to clean the toilet and buildings at an Australian university. The water scenes in this movie portray Yenni's mixed feelings. The film shows her recent situation in Australia in black and white while the previous scenes in Indonesia are shot in colour. The story starts as Yenni walks in the cold and early morning towards a building where she starts work.
The water flows down from the toilet sink that shows her emotions after she follows Hendra to Australia. Many Indonesian spouses who accompany their husbands or wives who study in Australia have difficulty to find a job or profession at the same level they held in Indonesia. Often, they end up working in labour-intensive just to get an income because many of them need to support their family in Australia as well as back in Indonesia.
Most of Yeni’s daily work involves the use of water to clean the sink, the toilet bowl, to mop the floor, and to wipe the garbage bin also she does dusting and vacuuming in the university The water flushing in the toilet bowl works as a metaphor for Yenni's loss of hope and passion for becoming a lecturer in Australia. As Yenni works as a cleaner to support her family back in Indonesia, she struggles to reconcile her passion and shame in not being able to find suitable work. Yenni feels useless and ashamed every day in Australia. When she sees Indonesian students who study at the university, she usually runs away and hides.
The water spurting through the university tap water indicates that Yenni will experience something to refresh her soul. After finishing cleaning, she is drinking water from the campus drinking tap water then she accidentally meets an Australian lecturer who is waiting to use the tap water too. The lecturer says hello and expresses her gratitude and appreciation for what she has done as a cleaner. Yenni feels extremely touched and ends up crying as she releases all the mixed feelings that she has been holding in such as sadness, disappointment, shame and uselessness. Finally Yenni feels gratitude for her life in Australia and she smiles.
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Sanjaya TjhiaDirector
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Sanjaya TjhiaWriter
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Fiona SuwanaWriter
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Fiona SuwanaProducer
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Fiona SuwanaKey Cast
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Jane AhlstrandKey Cast
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Sanjaya TjhiaKey Cast
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Sanjaya TjhiaCinematographer
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Sanjaya TjhiaVideo EditorThe Tempus Elixir (2015); Plumeria (2016); Ash (2017)
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:9 minutes 57 seconds
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Completion Date:July 31, 2017
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Production Budget:150 AUD
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Country of Origin:Indonesia
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Country of Filming:Australia
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Language:English, Indonesian
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
I am a video editor with eight years of experience and a passion for storytelling and aesthetic. I’m graduated with a B.A. (Hon) in Mass Communications from The London School of Public Relations – Jakarta, Indonesia in June 2007. I started in television industry as video editor in Jakarta soon after I was graduated. I used to work in TV Stations and Production Houses as video editor for TV programs, documentaries, music videos, short films, company profiles, commercial fillers with 8 years experiences. I moved to Brisbane in December 2014 and since then, I have created and edited several individual, experiments and corporate projects with Australian film makers, Australian students, Australian YouTubers, French musician, Indomie Australia, Indonesian communities, Indonesian students, restaurant owner, and travel investor in Brisbane, Australia. Also, I have been working with Indonesian and Australian.
I am passionate, efficient, creative, detail oriented film/video editor, soulful film maker and able to create a beautifully cut project. As I am living and having great Indonesian communities in Brisbane, I became inspired by Indonesian spouse who accompany their husbands or wives who study in Australia. Many of them have difficulty to find a job or profession at the same level they held in Indonesia. Often, they end up working in labour-intensive just to get an income because many of them need to support their family in Australia as well as back in Indonesia. Therefore, I motivated to create a film that could portray one part of Indonesian spouses who live in Australia, especially about their struggling and emotional situation with the labour jobs. Also, I fascinated with Australian cultures in Brisbane especially about the appreciation and the equality. From my experience, most Brisbane people usually say thank you to cleaners who cleaned their offices areas and everyone from directors to cleaners in campus could drink in the same tap water. Therefore, I would like to combine Indonesian and Australian characteristics in my film, Gratitude as I believe that Australia and Indonesia are to build and maintain great connections to each other.